


Brothers

by Holz9364



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anal Sex, Dark Ron Weasley, Dead Ron, Double Penetration, F/M, M/M, Mentions of Twincest, Morally Grey Harry Potter, Multi, Sibling Incest, There is a lot of plot I swear, Threesome - F/M/M, and a tiny sherlock crossover because why not?, but also some porn, but her husband has just died I think we can cut her some slack, slightly OOC Hermione as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:55:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 90,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24089239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holz9364/pseuds/Holz9364
Summary: When Ron dies, Hermione's world shatters apart. They hadn't been happy towards the end, but they do have two children together.In the wake of his brother's death, Charlie comes home and he needs a place to stay which leads to a whole host of problems as Hermione begins to fall in love with her dead Husbands brother, who has a problematic relationship with his older brother, who is also her dead Husbands brother.Hermione begins to wish she wasn't so damn attracted to Weasley's.
Relationships: Bill Weasley/Charlie Weasley, Hermione Granger/Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger/Bill Weasley/Charlie Weasley, Hermione Granger/Charlie Weasley
Comments: 60
Kudos: 370





	1. Keep Holding On

**Author's Note:**

> This is very loosely based on a movie of the same name. I say loosely because I’ve never actually seen the film, only the trailer which sparked this idea of mine! I wrote a Hermione/Charlie story a while ago but it was only a little 7-part thing (Waking Up in Vegas) and since I love the pairing so much I decided to dedicate a longer story to them then Bill got involved somehow but I liked it, so he stayed!
> 
> Chapter title is from the song:  
> Keep Holding On by Avril Lavigne

None of it had felt real until that moment. Until she found herself standing in a small chapel with tears running down her face. From the moment that Harry had shown up on her doorstep, covered in blood with tears streaming down his face, Hermione had felt numb and empty.

She had always known that the pain would come. She had not broken down into tears and collapsed into Harry’s arms, she had simply drawn back with wide eyes and shut the door on him. She had not shed a single tear over the past three days and she knew that her friends and family were silently judging her for that. Everyone else had cried, everyone else was distraught but Hermione had been unable to force herself to feel anything.

She had to be practical, she could not let grief overcome her. She had two children to console, she had a funeral to plan, flowers to buy, a coffin to pick out. She had a mortgage to pay, bank accounts to contend with and a box of his belongings from his desk lying untouched in the spare room.

She had kept her face expressionless as she walked into the chapel. To some of the others, she seemed to be as cold as stone. It was almost as if she did not care at all. The reality of it was that it hadn’t felt real until that moment. His entire family were in floods of tears. Harry (who Hermione had been unable to look at, let alone talk to since _that_ night) was openly sobbing on his wife’s shoulder. The coffin sat behind the altar, her children wore black dress robes and clung to each other. It was then that it all came crashing down on Hermione as she took her seat at the front of the little chapel.

The tears flooded her eyes as she realised that not only was it real, it was permanent. Her husband was dead, he had been killed in a brutal and bloody attack in the line of duty, and he would never be coming back to her. She was a single mother, a widow…her children would never see their father again.

A hand reached out to her from her right side but Hermione batted it away and turned her tearstained face to that of her best friend’s, “Don’t,” she said quietly.

Harry withdrew his hand silently. Sadness and regret flashed through his eyes, he knew why she was shunning him. She blamed him, and why shouldn’t she? He was Ron’s Auror partner, he had taken a vow to protect him and he had failed. This _was_ his fault.

The funeral passed quickly, and truthfully it had been a blur. Hermione didn’t know how she had managed to get through it. All that she remembered was the crying and the tightness in her chest that she could not get rid of. She felt like she was suffocating under the weight of everything that was hitting her. She remembered gathering the children up and apparating back to her home in Canterbury for the wake. She nodded and smiled politely at every person who said that they were sorry for her loss.

For the most part, she was avoiding the Weasley’s because their pain was too much for her. It was too hard to be near Molly, it would break Hermione down and she couldn’t afford to do that. They had taken solace at a lonely table in the corner of the room far away from Hermione and right now that suited her fine.

However, amongst the chaos of the last few days, there was one Weasley she had failed to notice was not accountable for.

“I can’t believe it’s true, Hermione.”

Hermione’s eyes snapped up and she met Charlie’s, his understanding blue eyes. Those eyes reminded her so much of Ron’s.

“Charlie,” Was all she could manage.

“I’ve only just managed to get back from Australia,” Charlie admitted guiltily, “It’s a long trip with all of the apparition checkpoints. I’m so sorry that I missed the funeral.”

Hermione shook her head, “It’s fine. He…he would have understood.”

Charlie swallowed visibly and nodded, “He’s really gone.”

Hermione nodded, “It was an ambush…Harry-” her voice caught, “Harry said he tried to save him but by the time he caught up there was nothing left to save.”

Charlie’s face paled, “So the coffin…”

“Empty,” Hermione whispered, “The Aurors think the guy used some kind of curse that made his insides…” she looked green but Charlie nodded and placed his hand on her shoulder, “You don’t need to say anymore,” he murmured.

Hermione nodded and looked away from Charlie, somehow eye contact was proving difficult for her right now. Perhaps it was because she couldn’t bear to see the pain in other people’s eyes.

Charlie glanced over at Harry, “He must be giving himself hell for this,” he said quietly.

“He should,” Hermione said, “This is his fault.”

An alarming look flashed across Charlie’s face. Her words shocked him and Hermione could tell that he disagreed with her but he, rather wisely, did not push the issue.

“I had better go and see Mum,” Charlie said, glancing at Hermione with concern again.

“Yes,” Hermione agreed, “You should.”

He crossed the room without another word and Hermione shut her eyes briefly as the grief threatened to overcome her once more.

* * *

For the remainder of the week, Hermione ignored the Weasley’s. She had been forced to take sympathetic leave from her work which helped her in this quest to ignore her deceased husband’s family.

However, it did not help her state of mind at all. She got on with her life, she kept the kids in school and tried to busy herself around the house. The trouble was, everywhere she looked she was reminded of Ron. It also didn’t help that at least once a day a Weasley tried to break her door down with food that Molly was trying to deliver. Each day she ignored it in the hope that they would eventually give up.

Harry had been nowhere near the house. Hermione suspected that he knew he would not get within an inch of the front door if he even attempted to visit her right now. The pain was still so raw and with that pain came a wave of anger directed towards Harry that even she could not really explain.

It was only worsened when her children, exactly a week after the funeral decided that they needed more answers from their mother. They had both been very subdued since hearing the news that their father was gone, but they hadn’t questioned it yet and Hermione knew it was going to come eventually.

Rose, Hermione’s eldest child at 7 years old, led the interrogation, “Is Dad really dead like your Mum and Dad?” she asked as they sat around the dinner table with untouched plates.

Hermione drew in a sharp breath and nodded, “Yes.”

“Does that mean we’ll never see him again?” Hugo asked, at only 4 years old he was quite unable to understand what was happening.

Hermione gave another nod, “It means he won’t be coming back. It’s just the three of us now.”

The news did not seem to take Hugo by surprise, oddly enough. However, it sent Rose into a fit of tears as she threw herself around the table into her Mother’s arms.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly and tried to fight the tears threatening to fall as she held Rose. Hugo sidled over and squeezed into the hug too and for some reason, this sent Hermione over the edge. Her tears fell along with Roses, and once she had finally gotten the children calm she put them to bed in the spare room so that they could cuddle up and keep each other company.

She felt exhausted, both physically and mentally as she trudged downstairs feeling like a zombie. She hadn’t slept all week, she was slobbing around in dirty old pyjamas and she looked like death warmed up.

When she reached the kitchen, Hermione poured herself a glass of wine and sat down at the barstool, she stared out of the window into the night and contemplated where on earth her life would go now.

She rolled her eyes when she heard a knock at the backdoor. As she had done all week she ignored it but the knocking became persistent. Hermione was on the verge of opening the window and yelling that she didn’t want company when a voice from outside called, “Hermione, you can’t coop yourself up in this house all week. It’s not healthy.”

The voice stopped Hermione in her tracks, it wasn’t the usual suspects. No, that consisted of Molly, Arthur, Ginny and Fleur. This voice most definitely belonged to Charlie. All the same, Hermione did not want company.

“I don’t want your fucking lasagne,” She said through the air vent in the door.

“I don’t have any fucking lasagne,” Charlie replied, and she could hear the humour in his voice, “I do have a bottle of wine and a bottle of whiskey though.”

Hermione was silent at that, he was the first person to indulge her misery and self-loathing rather than try to feed her, “Really?”

“Really. Are you going to unlock the door now?”

Hermione sighed but unlocked the door with a click of her fingers. It swung open, revealing Charlie with two brown bags in hand, “I tell no lies,” he said as he stepped into the kitchen and deposited the two bottles on the table.

The door snapped shut behind him and Hermione surveyed him warily.

“I didn’t know what your poison was but I figured it was either wine or firewhiskey. There’s nothing else a sophisticated lawyer of the Wizengamot would drink after all,” Charlie said as he began to open all of her cupboards in his search for a glass.

Hermione rolled her eyes and sent one flying into his hand with a swish of her wrist, “Sophisticated? Have you seen the state of me?”

Charlie glanced her over, “You could do with a shower and a change of clothes, but there’s nothing different underneath the frazzled exterior,” he said solemnly as he poured himself a glass of firewhiskey and set the bottle of wine down in front of her.

“What are you doing here Charlie?” Hermione asked in exasperation.

“The same thing everyone else has been trying to do,” Charlie said honestly, “Check up on you.”

“I’m fine, I have to be fine. I have two kids to look after, I can’t afford to have a mental breakdown,” Hermione said irritably.

“Implying that you need to have one,” Charlie said, “Look, Hermione, there’s no shame in bawling your eyes out to someone. I wouldn’t judge you, I did it when Freddie died.”

“I don’t need to bawl my eyes out to anyone,” Hermione snapped, “Which is why I’ve been ignoring all of you.”

“Apart from me,” Charlie said, “Because I knew that bringing you food would do no good. You’re a responsible Mother, you need to feed your children. It’s rather offensive of them to suggest that you’re incapable of doing so just because you’re grieving. I doubt you’ve been eating properly, if at all, but I never doubt that those kids would go a day without.”

Hermione felt oddly humbled by that, “It was slightly offensive,” she admitted, “The last thing I want right now is a fridge full of your Mother’s bloody meals.”

“But what you do want is something to numb the pain,” Charlie said, gesturing at the bottle of wine, “Which is why you let me in.”

“Yes, you’re very clever,” Hermione said sarcastically, “And now that you’re in, what do you want?”

“I told you,” Charlie said calmly, “I wanted to make sure that you were doing okay. Cooping yourself up in here with only your kids for company isn’t healthy. You need to talk about what happened, you need to talk about what’s going on in your head.”

“What’s going on in my head,” Hermione scoffed, “Charlie if you knew what was going on in my head you would be out of that door in a second.”

“Try me,” Charlie said.

Hermione sighed and looked down into her hands, “Well I think I’m a hypocrite for being so upset. It wasn’t a secret to our close friends that Ron and I had been having real problems over the last few months.”

“I never knew about it,” Charlie reasoned.

“You work in Australia,” Hermione said, staring at him in disbelief, “You don’t know much about what goes on back here. I mean, did you know Ron and Harry were fighting for a promotion that Harry has now got? It was between those two for the Head Auror job, and Merlin knows Ron was letting it get to his head.”

“I did know that,” Charlie said, “I also know Harry turned down the job offer because he feels so guilty about what happened to Ron. He let me read the case file and honestly Hermione, there was nothing that Harry could have done. They stumbled into an ambush when they should have been on a peacekeeping mission, nothing could have changed the outcome.”

“I know,” Hermione admitted, “I just feel so angry and…”

“You need someone to channel that anger towards,” Charlie said with a nod, “Naturally it’s Harry because in your mind he’s the one person who could have done something about it. Trust me, I get that. I felt the same way towards Percy after Fred died, at one stage I even wished it had been Percy instead.”

Hermione gasped in horror, “That’s a horrible thing to think Charlie!”

“Yes, it is,” Charlie agreed, “But don’t tell me you haven’t thought at least once, even for a brief moment, that you wished it had been Harry.”

“I haven’t!” Hermione exclaimed, “I could never think something like that! Harry has a wife, he has children, I would never wish anything like that upon him.”

“Then you are a far stronger person than I am,” Charlie said, surveying Hermione as if he was trying to analyse her, “And a far better person.”

Hermione shook her head, “I certainly don’t know about better. Here I am dragging myself through life crying about the fact that Ron is dead when in those last few weeks I was talking to a colleague about drawing up divorce papers. How do I have the right to grieve after that?”

“Because regardless of how bad things were, regardless of how you felt about him romantically, he was still one of your best friends,” Charlie said firmly, “I’m sorry things were so bad and you’re right, I didn’t know anything about that. But you knew Ron since you were 11 years old, you went to hell and back with him, you were there for each other throughout some of the hardest moments of your life. You loved him enough to marry him, to have two beautiful kids with him and regardless of how bad things get, none of that ever goes away.”

Hermione looked down at the table to try and mask the tears in her eyes. Charlie was right, she just hadn’t expected a pearl of wisdom like that to come from a dragon trainer, “I feel like a hypocrite though Charlie, I feel like a liar.”

“Hermione,” Charlie said gently, “If you had divorced Ron and then this had happened you would still have had every right to be angry and upset. He’s the Father of your children above all else. For Merlin’s sake, stop making yourself feel guilty for grieving.”

Hermione sighed and remained silent for a long moment, “Since when did dragon training qualify you as a grief counsellor?” She asked in a feeble attempt at a joke.

Charlie shrugged and said, “I didn’t always want to be a dragon trainer you know. I really thought about being a Healer for a while and the psychology aspect of it always fascinated me.”

“Really?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Charlie nodded and cocked his head at her, “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me. I bet you think I’m the dumb one because I’m just a dragon trainer, right?”

“No Charlie, of course not,” Hermione said hastily.

Charlie shook his head, “There’s no shame in admitting it, everyone thinks I’m the least successful one in the family Hermione. The truth of the matter is, I got the best grades out of all of us, Percy included, but I wanted to see the world so I ran away to play with dragons as Mum always says.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “You followed your dream, even though you had the capability to do anything that you wanted to do. I wish I had been that brave, I wanted to work in the DMLE and be this international ambassador who brought about change all over the world but then I got married and had children and realised that it wasn’t exactly a reliable career. Someone had to stay at home while Ron chased adventure all around the world with his best friend after all…”

“You should never have had to give up your dream for him to pursue his,” Charlie said softly, “That’s not love, that’s entrapment.”

Hermione shook her head, “It was for the children, I needed to be around for them and I have been. I don’t have any regrets about that…the thing is Charlie, when you have kids you realise that no dream is more important than them.”

Charlie smiled slightly sadly, “And that’s where my dream has its downfall. Yes, I saw the world, I lived in beautiful places and I met amazing people but I never fell in love and settled down. Here I am at 40 years old with so many wonderful nieces and nephews but none of my own to love.”

Hermione reached across the table and grabbed his hand, “But your nieces and nephews all adore you, that must come as some comfort.”

“A small one maybe,” Charlie said, taking his hand from hers and getting to his feet, “I’m glad you seem to be doing okay Hermione. Just promise that if you ever do need to talk, you’ll come to me rather than keeping everything bottled up.”

“You’re kind of inaccessible in Australia,” Hermione joked.

Charlie smiled at her, “I’m not in Australia anymore. Losing my baby brother made me realise that life is far too short, I’m back in the UK for the foreseeable future. I want to spend more time with the people that I love.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “What will you do? There isn’t a big market for dragon trainers here.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “I know, looks like I’m going to have to give my old man a heart attack by taking that job at the Ministry I’ve told him I don’t want for the past 20 years.”

Hermione chuckled, “Well good luck Charlie and…thanks.”

Charlie gave her a warm smile, “Anytime,” he promised as he let himself out of her house.

* * *

Hermione’s conversation with Charlie had helped her out. She had realised that she had to stop wallowing, knowing that she was allowed to grieve made it easier to do so, as little sense as that made.

All the same, once Charlie had left, Hermione poured her glass of wine down the sink and got to her feet. She tidied and cleaned the entire house and then showered and got changed into warm, clean pyjama’s. She set her alarm for the following morning and slipped into bed next to Rose and Hugo. For the first time all week, she actually slept.

The next morning, she got Rose and Hugo moving while dressing at top speed in her smartest navy blue skirt suit. She pulled her hair up into a bun and put on her favourite lipstick then she took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had almost been able to hide the bags beneath her eyes with a glamour charm but between her stressful job and the kids those were hardly a new addition anyway.

“Mum! Rose stole my cereal!” Hugo roared from downstairs.

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed a pair of heels from the bottom of her wardrobe. With her shoes in hand, she jogged down the stairs into the kitchen, “What’s going on?”

Rose gave her Mother a long-suffering look, one which made her look far older than her 7 years, “I had the last bowl of the Lucky Charms and Hugo said I stole _his_ cereal. It’s not his, it’s ours.”

“Rose is right,” Hermione reasoned, slipping her shoes on and opening the cupboard, “There are other cereals Hugo. You can have Cheerio’s or Shreddies.”

Hugo crossed his arms huffily, “Don’t like them!”

“How about some of Grandma’s homemade blackcurrant jam then?” Hermione asked, glancing at the clock, “On a slice of toast?”

Hugo nodded, “Yeah…I like that.”

Hermione shot her daughter a vaguely amused look and popped a piece of bread into the toaster, “Did you finish your homework last night?”

Rose nodded, “I had to help Hugo with his Maths again.”

“Sorry sweetheart,” Hermione said, directing her next comment at Hugo, “I’ll be able to help you again now darling, I’m feeling much better.”

Hugo smiled, “You look better Mummy.”

Rose nodded her agreement, “You look very pretty Mummy.”

Hermione smiled fondly at the two children, “Well a Lawyer isn’t supposed to look pretty. She’s supposed to look fierce, do I look fierce?”

Rose made a face, “No, you look like an elegant princess.”

“Not exactly the look I was aiming for darling,” Hermione laughed. Hugo’s toast popped up and she quickly threw some butter and jam on it before sliding the plate across to her son, “Eat up quickly or we’ll be late for school.”

“Are you coming with us today Mum?” Rose asked hopefully.

“Yes, I’ll drop you off on my way to work,” Hermione promised, “But we’ll be late if we don’t leave in about…one minute.”

“I can eat on the way!” Hugo said, stuffing the remainder of his toast into his mouth and squeezing his feet into his trainers.

Rose practically jumped into her school shoes with their little kitten heel. Hermione smiled at their eagerness and grabbed her favourite red winter coat from the coatrack, “Coats on, chop-chop!”

In barely a minute the two children had equipped themselves with coats, gloves, hats and scarves. Hermione quickly scanned them to make sure that they had their school bags and once she was satisfied that they did, she marched them out of the door. With a wave of her hand, the house was locked up for the day and they were on their way to the children’s school which was only a short walk away.

Hermione had decided that she wanted the children to go to Muggle school before starting Hogwarts at the age of 11. Part of this came down to the fact that she and Ron would both be working and it would be far cheaper than paying for a wizarding tutor. Another huge part of it for Hermione was that she wanted her children to have a basic Muggle education too, simple things like Maths and English came in very handy. Ron had reminded her that Witches and Wizards did learn the basics, they were just home-schooled or tutored for the most part.

It had taken a bit of convincing, but Ron had come around to the idea and the kids loved their school. They had both made friends and had a good little social circle, school kept them busy during the day and meant that they had disco’s and parties to go to for special occasions. Ron realised very quickly that it had been a good decision on Hermione’s part.

Hugo was only in nursery and had only been going for a year. He had been a bit clingy at first and cried when they left him but he was in his stride now and loved it. Rose, on the other hand, had just started Year 2. She was one of the oldest in her year due to her late September birthday but this also meant that she was by far the smartest.

They rounded the corner and the school came into view. Children were running around in the playground while parents gossiped outside the school gates.

“Mummy, who's picking me up from nursery today?” Hugo asked as they approached the school gates.

Hermione cursed inwardly, she had been so unprepared for going back to work that she had forgotten to make arrangements, “Uh, I’m not sure yet sweetheart but I promise that there will be someone here to pick you up, okay?”

“Okay,” Hugo said simply.

Hermione smiled down at Rose, “Have a good day Rosie,” she said as Rose spotted a few friends and darted across the playground towards them.

Hermione kept her hand in Hugo’s and led him inside the nursery. She glanced around warily, Ginny and Harry’s youngest child Lily was the same age as Hugo. As such, they were in the same nursery class and the last thing Hermione needed was to bump into either of them this morning.

“Quickly honey, change your shoes,” Hermione urged, her eyes kept flitting towards the door as Hugo kicked his trainers off and put his indoor gym shoes on.

Hermione grabbed his hand and led him quickly towards the classroom, “Have a good day,” she said, kissing him on the cheek and darting out of the nursery as quickly as she could.

She had made it, just in time. Hermione had barely slipped out of the school gates when she saw Harry coming around the opposite corner with Lily by his side. She was unsure if he had noticed her but all the same she walked very swiftly towards the alley at the back of the school that she used to apparate to work.

Once she was there she took a breath and composed herself. The school bell rang and Hermione racked her brains to work out who was going to pick her children up from nursery and school. She couldn’t ask Molly and Arthur, not after she had spent a week ignoring them. That logic cancelled out most of the Weasley’s…and Harry would do it but then Hermione would have to try and make things up with him and she wasn’t quite ready to do that yet.

She groaned inwardly as she realised that she only had one option. All the same, Hermione conjured up her Patronus and recorded her message, “Hi Charlie. Look I know you said you wanted me to talk to you if I needed help and I’m pretty sure this isn’t what you had in mind but…well, you’re the only person who’s speaking to me since I’ve shunned everyone else. With everything going on, I forgot that I need someone to pick up the kids from nursery and school and you are literally the only person I can ask. If you’re busy or if it’s going to be a hassle, don’t worry about it. I’ll just have to take a half-day at work.”

With her awkward rambling message finished, Hermione batted her Patronus away and shook her head. She barely spoke to Charlie, they had a brief conversation every Christmas or New Year when he came back from whatever country he was inhabiting. They barely knew each other, the rest of the Weasley’s were far more familiar to Hermione. They all babysat each other’s kids and regularly met up for meals or a few drinks but Charlie was foreign to her and yet she was asking him to help her out in such a massive way.

She was just about to prepare herself to apparate into the Ministry when a large dragon swept down from the sky and perched in front of her. When it opened its mouth, it spoke with Charlie’s voice, “Of course I’ll help you out, Hermione. But you’ll need to provide your kids childless Uncle with a bit more information. Like what time do nursery and school finish at? And where exactly am I picking the kids up from?”

“Shit,” Hermione muttered.

“Yeah,” Charlie’s voice said, “It’s kind of vital information.”

Hermione jumped, “How are you doing that?”

“It’s an open Patronus channel,” Charlie replied.

“That’s impossible,” Hermione said, frowning at the dragon.

“I told you I was the smartest Weasley brother. What school do they go to?”

“Uh…” Hermione was still stunned at the fact Charlie knew something that she didn’t know, “It’s St Stephens Junior School in Canterbury. It’s where James, Al and Lily go to school and nursery.”

“Right, I’ve picked the boys up before. They finish at 3.15 don’t they?”

“Yes,” Hermione replied, “And Hugo finishes nursery at 12.30.”

“So what do you want me to do with him in the afternoon before Rosie finishes school?” Charlie asked.

“Anything,” Hermione said honestly, “He’s easy enough to entertain. Are you sure you don’t mind Charlie?”

“I wouldn’t agree to do it if I minded,” Charlie promised, “You better hurry, aren’t you late for work?”

“Just about,” Hermione admitted, glancing down at her watch, “I’ll see you at 4 o’clock, thanks again, Charlie.”

“No problem,” Charlie’s voice said as his dragon Patronus became smoke and dissipated.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and spun on her heel, aware that by the time she clocked in she was probably going to be late.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	2. Near to You, I Am Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Near to You by A Fine Frenzy.

Being late was a good thing in a lot of ways. It meant that she could dash up to the security wizard, scan her wand and jump into a lift so crowded that nobody could talk to her. It meant that she could dash along the corridor to her office without having to say a word to the receptionist with the sympathetic eyes.

By the time she sat down in her comfortable armchair in her large office, Hermione sighed with relief. She was only a few minutes late and she was sure her boss would let that slide, given that her husband had only died a week and a half ago.

She had barely had a minute to compose herself when the door swung open and the lawyer who occupied the office across the hall stepped inside, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine Susan,” Hermione said, glancing down at the stack of paperwork on her desk.

“You can’t be fine Hermione,” Susan Bones, a close friend of Hermione’s from their school days said gently.

“I’m as fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” Hermione promised, “And I just want to get back to work without sympathetic looks and false apologies.”

“Alright,” Susan said, taking a seat across from Hermione, “I can help you with that. I’m here to brief you on what happened in your absence.”

Hermione nodded and grabbed a pen from the top drawer of her desk. She flipped open the notepad that had a permanent spot on her desk and poised it at the ready, “How many minor crime trials?”

“21,” Susan replied, “18 of which were prosecuted and given minor sentences, nothing you need to concern yourself with. The three who were acquitted all had clean records.”

“And major cases?” Hermione asked, jotting down the figures Susan had given her.

“Only 2,” Susan replied, “One of which was clean and the other of which is still ongoing. We’re kind of glad you’re back actually, it’s a tricky one.”

“Alright, fill me in,” Hermione said, eagerness slipping into her voice.

“Well, the clean case was a simple one. As rare as the Aurors say it is, it was exactly what it looked like. The husband looked like he had killed his wife for her insurance money, and he had done just that. He was given time in Azkaban of course.”

Hermione nodded, “And the complicated case?”

“Yes, mixed and inconclusive evidence,” Susan said, “It’s going back to trial tomorrow before a sentence is agreed upon. I have all of the files here and the manuscript from his last trial a few days ago. It should keep you occupied for a few hours at least.”

Hermione took the brown paper package from Susan and said, “Once I’ve read it am I reporting to you or Morton?”

“Me,” Susan said with a dark look, “Morton is in one of his moods. The last thing you need is him shouting at you, relay your findings to me and I’ll deal with him.”

“I’m not going to shun you on that offer on my first day back,” Hermione said with a slight smile as she opened the case file, “Is there anything else I need to deal with?”

“Daphne will be over to see you at some point this afternoon,” Susan said, “She has a re-trial for that guy who you’re sure got away with murder last year. She wanted to discuss the case with you and see if there was enough to force the Aurors to re-open it before he goes to court again.”

“Alright, thanks for the heads up,” Hermione said, “And Susan, I appreciated the card you sent after…it happened.”

Susan smiled sadly at Hermione, “Hey, that’s what friends are for,” she said simply as she slipped out of Hermione’s office.

* * *

Hermione’s morning passed uneventfully. She poured over the files Susan had given her and enjoyed an hour-long ‘brief’ in which a pot or two of tea mysteriously disappeared. She did have a lot of fresh insight which Susan reckoned would help with the case when it was brought to re-trial.

After that, it was time for lunch and Hermione was not brave enough to leave her office, let alone the department, to grab anything to eat. She had forgotten to pack herself a lunch, as usual, but she worked in the same department as Harry and would have to pass the Auror cubicles on her way to the lifts.

She also stood the chance of being ambushed by Arthur, Percy or his wife Audrey, and she really didn’t fancy that. As such, she spent a rather miserable and boring half an hour in her office looking through all of the paperwork that had been dumped on her desk in her absence. Most it was destined for the shredding pile but there was the odd document that had needed reading.

Sometime in the early afternoon, a knock sounded on her office door.

“Come in!”

The door swung open and Daphne Greengrass blew in. She was every inch the perfect image of a lawyer. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun and her red lipstick added a glamorous touch that fitted perfectly.

“I have a case I need to collaborate with you on,” Daphne said, getting straight down to business.

“So I’ve heard. Susan briefed me, I gather your guy is Andrew Dodds?”

Daphne nodded, taking a seat opposite Hermione and letting a case file drop onto the desk, “He’s a suspect in the Barbara Woods murder case.”

Hermione looked at Daphne blankly, “You’re going to have to fill me in, I’ve been cooped up in my house feeling sorry for myself with no links to the outside world whatsoever.”

Daphne glanced up, “Yes, I heard about your Husband. Terrible business, I am sorry.”

Hermione nodded, she was relieved to see no sympathy in Daphne’s eyes. It was a nice change, “Yes, anyway. Barbara Woods murder?”

“Well-to-do Muggle woman from London,” Daphne said, “Her husband was a banker, they did well enough. It looked like a botched burglary attempt to the Muggle police but our guys clocked fairly quickly that magic had been used.”

“That sounds very similar to the last case he was suspected in,” Hermione said with a frown, “It was a botched burglary attempt on the home of Seraphina Nott.”

Daphne nodded, “Precisely, he’s been linked to both murders and I would rather he did not get away with murder twice.”

“I agree,” Hermione said, “Susan said the evidence was circumstantial?”

“Very much so,” Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, “But if we put our heads together I am sure we can think of a way to pin this on him. It will be a long meeting so I have my secretary out fetching us coffee.”

Hermione smiled at her colleague, “That sounds wonderful. Shall we get down to business?”

* * *

When the clock struck 3.50 pm that afternoon Hermione exited the Ministry in record time. She kept her head down during her dash along the corridor past the Auror cubicles so that she could not possibly make eye contact with Harry if he was hanging around.

She got in a lift and shut it before another person could get in with her then breathed a sigh of relief as she rode it down to the atrium. In her haste to get out of the Ministry without being cornered by some concerned friend or family member, Hermione made record time in getting home.

The hand on her watch had barely touched 4 when she opened the backdoor and stepped into her kitchen, expecting to find Charlie sitting with a cup of coffee. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Ginny sitting opposite her brother at the table.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Hermione when she saw the older woman, “Did you really expect me not to get suspicious when I saw my older brother picking your kids up from school? It completely cemented the fact you’ve been ignoring the rest of us all week.”

Hermione barely managed to withhold a groan. She shut the door behind her and put her handbag down on a kitchen chair, “It’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated,” Ginny said defiantly, “You’re ignoring everyone except Charlie for some weird reason.”

“Maybe because Charlie was the only one who didn’t try to force food into my fridge,” Hermione snapped, “I don’t need food, I don’t _need_ sympathetic glances or bloody hugs! I want people to act normally around me or I’ll never be able to get on with my life! Charlie is the only person who isn’t looking at me like a china doll about to break!”

That wasn’t entirely true to be fair, Daphne hadn’t looked at her like that either. All the same, it got her point across to Ginny.

“We’re worried about you,” Ginny said in disbelief, “We can’t help that Hermione. You lost your husband, I can’t imagine how painful that must be.”

“Yes, you can’t,” Hermione agreed, “So please don’t try to understand. Just let me get on with my life like nothing has changed.”

“Hermione-”

“I know!” Hermione snapped, “Everything has changed, I know that Ginny but I just can’t afford to think like that.”

Charlie looked between the two women cautiously as the tense atmosphere in the room culminated in a long silence.

Eventually, Ginny sighed, “I’ll talk to Mum and Dad, I’ll let them know how you feel. The thing is, we’re all just as sad as you are Hermione and I can’t bear it being like Fred all over again.”

Hermione swallowed and glanced down. Nobody had spoken about Fred for a while after his death because nobody could deal with the pain, “It won’t be. It can’t be, the children will want to talk about their Father and Harry and I can’t just pretend that Ron was never here.”

“Speaking of Harry,” Ginny said tentatively, aware that she was broaching a sensitive subject, “You know fine well you could have asked him to watch the kids today. He had a half-day anyway, you should have worked that out when you dodged him at the nursery this morning.”

“I was happy to do it, Ginny, I’ve told you that,” Charlie said in a feeble attempt to intervene.

“I know you were Charlie but you do have other things to do,” Ginny said, “The job hunt being one.”

Hermione bit her tongue to keep what was going to come out of her mouth polite, “I wasn’t quite ready to ask Harry for a favour Ginny.”

“You aren’t quite ready to talk to him yet either, so it seems,” Ginny said somewhat bitterly, “He’s hurting too, you two need each other right now.”

“Maybe we do,” Hermione agreed, “But I will talk to him in my own time.”

Ginny sighed and pushed herself to her feet, “Will you at least come to Sunday dinner this week?”

“I’ll think about it,” Hermione said, not wanting to commit herself to anything more than that yet.

Ginny looked resigned to the fact that she was going to get nothing more out of Hermione, “If you feel up to it you really ought to come. It will help you know, being with family.”

Hermione just nodded. Ginny walked to the door and glanced briefly at her brother, “See you later Charlie,” she said before leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.

Hermione sighed and sat down in the chair Ginny had just vacated, “That was fun.”

“It was going to happen sometime,” Charlie said as he set the kettle boiling with a flick of his wand, “Be thankful it was Ginny instead of Mum.”

“True,” Hermione said as she rubbed her forehead, “I have got a Weasley related headache coming on.”

“You know the best way to cure it though, don’t you?” Charlie said knowingly.

Hermione tried to ignore the sound of the tea making itself in the corner, “Why do I have a feeling you’re going to tell me to face all my fears at once in the form of a Sunday dinner?”

“You must be psychic,” Charlie said, the hint of a smirk making its way onto his face.

“Hmm,” Hermione mumbled as a mug of tea floated down and landed softly in front of her, “Anyway, thanks for helping me out today. Were the kids alright?”

“Oh yeah, they were fine,” Charlie said with a wave of his hand, “Hugo loves anything to do with dragons so he was pretty easy to entertain. I think I might have been a bad influence though, I think he wants a tattoo now…”

“Brilliant,” Hermione said dryly.

“And Rose hasn’t been home very long,” Charlie continued, “She talked a lot about a volcano she made at school and how they made it erupt and it covered her teacher in lava. She was laughing about that which I thought was a bit extreme.”

Hermione smiled behind her hand, “Charlie, it was a science project. The volcano erupted because of a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda.”

“I have no idea what you just said,” Charlie said matter of factly.

Hermione couldn’t contain her chuckle, “Don’t you cook or bake?”

“I barbeque,” Charlie said thoughtfully, “And I order takeaways.”

“Right,” Hermione said, shaking her head in amusement, “You know, in some ways you are nothing like Ron but then in other ways…you remind me of him.”

Charlie gave her a sad sort of smile, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “It’s not your fault.”

They fell silent for a moment as they sipped their drinks. Hermione cleared her throat, “So what was that Ginny was saying, about the job hunt?”

“Well, surprisingly enough it’s proving fairly difficult to get a job when I’ve never held one down in this country,” Charlie admitted, “So I might actually have to take Dad up on his offer and join him in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.”

Hermione chuckled, “I’m sure things aren’t that bad. There is some demand for dragonologist’s in the UK you know.”

“I didn’t know that you knew I was a dragonologist,” Charlie said with a hint of surprise.

Hermione shrugged, “I put the pieces together when I found out how you clever you were. You don’t just train dragons, you study them, you heal them, you breed them. You are a professional, Charlie Weasley.”

Charlie smiled, “Professional or not, we only have one dragon reserve in this country and it’s declining rapidly.”

“Hmm,” Hermione hummed thoughtfully, “Yes, I would advise you to steer clear of that place in Snowdonia. It doesn’t have a very good reputation, my friends in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures expect it will close down before the end of the year.”

“That was what I had heard,” Charlie said, “And with that option taken out of the equation, I don’t have many options left that don’t involve the Ministry.”

“Would it be so hard to work for the Ministry?” Hermione asked, “It isn’t the same corrupt institution that it was when you left England. I have friends in the DRCMC who could put in a good word for you, the last I heard they were looking for another set of hands in the Beast Division.”

Charlie sighed, “I know I shouldn’t have expected to come back and step into the perfect job, but at the same time I’m selective over what I want to do. I disagree with the fact that the Beast Division of the DRCMC spend more time trying to control violent creatures that have only become that way because they have been mistreated than they do trying to help those creatures.”

“I know your feelings on that,” Hermione admitted, “I remember that argument you and Bill had over guard dragons in Gringotts a few Christmas’s ago.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “You were on my side if I recall correctly.”

“I was,” Hermione agreed, “There is a reason I don’t work for the DRCMC anymore, you know that. I can do better work from the outside than I ever could do working inside that department. I completely understand your reservations but you are right, if you erase the Ministry as an option…you don’t have many left apart from the obvious, teaching.”

“There is only one post in the UK that involves teaching about magical creatures and I think we both know that Luna won’t be giving up the job anytime soon,” Charlie said, shooting Hermione a knowing look.

“Maybe,” Hermione agreed, “But there’s always Hagrid’s job. He has wanted to retire for years and I could kind of see you as gamekeeper you know.”

“Do you think I’d look good carrying a 12 foot Christmas tree?” Charlie joked.

Hermione laughed heartily and shook her head, “I’m just saying, it’s an option.”

“I suppose it is,” Charlie agreed as he drained his cup of coffee and got to his feet, “But speaking of the job search, I really ought to get back to it. The last thing I need is Mum breathing down my neck all night about the fact I bummed around with my niece and nephew all day when I should have been at the Ministry begging for an interview.”

Hermione smiled sheepishly at him, “True, I’ll see you on Sunday?”

Charlie’s smile widened, “Yeah, see you on Sunday,” he agreed as he let himself out of the house.

* * *

“Hermione, are you even in there?”

Hermione was pulled out of her reverie with a jump, “Yes, we were talking about the Barbara Woods murder trial.”

Daphne and Susan shared an amused look, “We wrapped that up 15 minutes ago.”

“We’ve been debating what way up you’re supposed to use tinfoil ever since then,” Susan added with an amused smile, “Are you okay?”

“You have been more distant than usual today,” Daphne agreed.

Hermione sighed and shut her eyes tightly, “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Care to share?” Daphne asked nosily.

“Sharing is caring,” Susan added.

Hermione snorted, “Daphne, the last time I shared something with you I got sniggered at by Draco Malfoy for weeks every time I walked into the bloody apothecary.”

“That wasn’t her fault to be fair,” Susan said, “Her sister drugged her up on alcohol and forced her to tell all.”

“And how was I to know Draco would find it so funny that you had a crush on him back in school?” Daphne asked defensively.

“Of course he found it funny,” Hermione muttered as she felt another headache coming on, “He’s an arrogant prat.”

“Who clearly isn’t the source of your headache,” Susan said with narrowed eyes, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine…it’s just…you know Ron’s older brother?”

“Which one?” Susan and Daphne echoed.

“Charlie,” Hermione said, “The-”

“The hot one,” Daphne chimed in.

Susan and Hermione both shot Daphne a surprised look.

“What?” Daphne said, “For a Weasley, he’s okay.”

“I was going to say the dragonologist but we’ll roll with that,” Hermione said, shaking her head, “Anyway, the thing is…he’s the only Weasley who has treated me normally since Ron died so I’ve been seeing more of him than the others. He even watched my kids yesterday before I stopped being stubborn and asked Ginny if she could start watching them again…”

“And?” Daphne asked, “Where exactly are you going with this?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione admitted, “I just feel…it feels weird that I feel so comfortable around Charlie. I barely know him compared to the rest of the Weasley’s but when he’s over for coffee I just feel totally comfortable around him. Is that normal?”

Susan smiled at her friend, “I think it’s normal. I mean you and Charlie have one huge thing in common, you both love magical creatures of all shapes and sizes. I imagine that would keep a few conversations flowing.”

“And from the little I know of Charlie Weasley, I would say he doesn’t have an arrogant or bad bone in his body,” Daphne chipped in, “Maybe you feel comfortable with him because he reminds you of Ron in all of the good ways but without some of the bad traits?”

Susan nodded, “I know things were hard with you and Ron towards the end, it makes sense that you feel close to the brother that is most like him.”

Hermione nodded slowly and let out a slow breath, “Maybe you’re right, I guess I just don’t know where my head is at right now.”

“Stop overthinking things,” Daphne advised, “Just be grateful that you have a friend who understands what you’re going through and is there for you.”

Hermione nodded once more and was just beginning to think that she should get back to work sometime soon when a knock sounded at the office door. Their meeting had been taking place in her office so whoever was knocking clearly wanted to see her.

“Come in,” Hermione called.

The door opened and Harry stepped in rather tentatively, he was wearing his deep red Auror robes, “Good afternoon ladies, I require your assistance on a case.”

“The Barbara Woods murder case?” Susan guessed.

Harry nodded, “You’ll be the lawyer on that one, won’t you Hermione?”

“Assistant Lawyer actually,” Hermione said as she got to her feet and half-pulled Daphne from her seat, “Daphne’s going to be the Head Lawyer. She’s handling the entire case actually, she will be more than happy to help you.”

Daphne shot a murderous look back at Hermione as her colleague thrust her in Harry’s direction.

Harry looked a little relieved but also slightly disappointed, “Brilliant! Which way is your office Ms Greengrass?”

“Just up the corridor,” Daphne replied politely. Before leaving the office she shot Hermione another vile look and then she shut the door a little harder than she needed to.

Susan smirked, “She’s going to kill you tomorrow, you know that she hates working with Harry. She thinks he loves himself and babbles more than he talks facts.”

“I know,” Hermione said with a slightly guilty look, “I’ll bring her breakfast tomorrow to try and sweeten her up slightly.”

Susan sniggered and got to her feet, “Good luck with that,” she said as she slipped across the hall back into her own office.

* * *

The following morning Hermione traipsed through the Ministry with a brown paper bag of snacks in one hand and a carton containing 3 cardboard cups of Starbucks coffee in the other hand. She had all but forgotten about the danger of bumping into Weasley’s at work now, Percy worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation which was on a completely different floor and his wife was well-meaning enough to allow Hermione to dodge her in corridors.

However, until that morning she had completely forgotten about Arthur who headed the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office in the same Department that Hermione worked in. That was until she bumped into him coming out of the elevator.

“Hermione!”

Hermione plastered on a fake smile, “Arthur,” She said as politely as she could muster.

Arthur smiled at her, but it was a sad smile, the kind that she was avoiding, “How are you holding up? Charlie says you’re feeling a lot better now.”

“I am,” Hermione said as she tried not to let it grate on her that Charlie was reporting back to his family on her state of mind, “I’m just getting on with it, working and keeping the kids going, you know?”

Arthur nodded, “Oh, of course. Molly and I have been worried about you though Hermione.”

“I know,” Hermione said as guilt coursed through her for the first time, “I’ve just been trying to deal with everything in my own time and my way. I can’t avoid the Burrow forever though, as much as it reminds me of Ron.”

Arthur gave her another nod and another sad smile, “Why don’t you come over on Sunday? It will help all of us, I think.”

“I’m planning to,” Hermione promised, “But I had better get going or I’ll have two annoyed lawyers with cold coffee.”

Arthur chuckled and bowed his head, “Of course, I’ll look forward to seeing you on Sunday.”

“You too Arthur,” Hermione said with a small but genuine smile.

It seemed to cheer Arthur up slightly because he had a smile on his face too as he walked away.

Hermione continued along the corridor and braced herself as she knocked on the door to Daphne’s office.

“Come in.”

She pushed the door open and stepped inside, “Good morning?” she tried tentatively.

Daphne glared at her colleague, “That had better be breakfast.”

“It is,” Hermione said, taking a muffin out of the bag and placing it on her desk, “Blueberry muffin and a mocha latte.”

“Hmm,” Daphne said as she cracked the muffin in half, “It’s almost enough to make me forgive you for forcing Harry Potter on me for _an hour_ yesterday afternoon.”

“An hour?” Hermione asked with a grimace.

“An hour,” Daphne reiterated, “As usual he babbled on and on without giving me much information at all. Why do I always feel like he gets more information out of our conversations than I do? Oh yes, I remember! It’s because I doze off 10 minutes into any meeting with the insufferable man!”

“I know how much you hate working with him,” Hermione admitted sheepishly, “And I’m sorry for shoving him on you like that.”

“You better have a good reason,” Daphne said, she was still glaring at Hermione but it didn’t look like she meant it quite as much now.

“I kind of blame him for Ron’s death,” Hermione admitted with a sigh, “Even though I know Charlie’s right and Harry couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. But the thing is, Harry’s done so many amazing things so why couldn’t he just have saved Ron, you know?”

Daphne’s features softened and she nodded, “Yes, I’d say that’s a good enough excuse. Are you avoiding him completely?”

“At the moment, yes,” Hermione replied, “But I’ll have to talk to him in a few days at the first Weasley dinner I’ll be attending since Ron…you know.”

Daphne nodded and a touch of sympathy almost slipped into her eyes, “I get it, but maybe talking to everyone will help you out.”

“Maybe,” Hermione said doubtfully, “Anyway, I better take Susan her coffee before it gets cold if I want to live through the day.”

Daphne laughed, “Yes, that would be advisable,” she agreed as Hermione slipped out of the office once more.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	3. Family is Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from the song:  
> Family is Family by Kacey Musgraves.

Hermione felt sick as she ushered the children towards the fireplace on Sunday morning. The thought of going to the Burrow and dealing with Ron’s grieving family filled her with misery which was the real reason that she had been avoiding the house.

She put Rose and Hugo in first then she stepped into the fireplace herself and said in a resigned sort of way, “The Burrow.”

Once the spinning had stopped, Hermione opened her eyes and stepped into the familiar little kitchen where she had spent so much time over the last few years.

“Can we go-” Rose began to ask.

Hermione smiled and nodded, “Go and find your cousins,” she said before her daughter could finish the question.

“Al and Lucy are outside Rosie,” Molly’s voice said from the pantry cupboard.

“Where’s Lily, Grandma?” Hugo asked chirpily as Rose darted noisily out of the backdoor.

Molly withdrew from the cupboard and smiled at her Grandson, “She’s upstairs sweetheart, she will be very happy to see you.”

Hugo smiled brightly and ran at top speed up the stairs, clattering all the way. Hermione shook her head in amusement and dusted herself down, “What on earth are Al and Lucy doing outside in cold weather like this?”

Molly sighed in exasperation, “I heard something about pranking Jamie using ice and the chicken coup, I didn’t ask any questions.”

Hermione chuckled and felt relief at how normal things seemed to be here, “Can I help with lunch?”

“Could you be a dear and set the table?” Molly asked as she motioned to the bare table at the other side of the magically extended kitchen, “Some of the boys and the girls, decided that a final Quidditch match was in order before the orchard iced over.”

“And you were left with the house full of grandkids?” Hermione guessed as she began to open cupboards and pull out table cloths and cutlery.

“Fred and Molly decided to spectate so they are Arthur’s problem,” Molly said matter of factly, “Jamie is upstairs being suspiciously quiet, I have no idea what Al and Lucy are up to, but Roxy and Lily are quietly playing upstairs. I always said that I liked those two the best.”

Hermione laughed as she magically smoothed out the tablecloth, “They are young yet, that will change when their cousins start to act as a bad influence on them.”

Molly shook her head in exasperation but she was hiding a small smile, “It’s getting a little quieter every year as we get into winter. Soon another four of them are going to be at Hogwarts.”

“How is Dom getting on?” Hermione asked conversationally.

“Oh she’s fine,” Molly said with a wave of her hand, “She has made plenty of new friends in Gryffindor, the one she seems to talk about most in her letters is a girl called Olivia. She loves Hogwarts of course, they all do.”

“Rosie can’t wait to go,” Hermione admitted, “And I hate the thought of her being away for so long. Thank Merlin that I have a few years yet before we get to that point.”

“Those years will fly by, mark my words,” Molly said.

Hermione chuckled and said, “Oh, I know they will,” as she finished setting the table, “Do you have the full clan today then?”

“Almost,” Molly said as she pulled a large chicken from the oven, “Ted, Victoire and Dom are all at school now of course. We’re not sure if we’re going to have Fleur today, Bill said she wasn’t sure if she would get away from work in time, but Charlie’s here.”

“For good, so I hear,” Hermione said, she cleared the condensation from the window and glanced outside to see if she could spot her daughter.

Molly smiled brightly at that, “Yes, isn’t that wonderful news? I always have wanted him to be closer to us, what with all the grandchildren starting to go to school now.”

Hermione nodded and asked, “How is the job hunt going?”

Molly sighed, “Well if he would only accept a job at the Ministry it would be going an awful lot better.”

Hermione looked away from the window towards her Mother-in-law, “I think working at the Ministry would restrict his talent massively though Molly and I doubt he would be happy there. I just can’t ever picture Charlie sitting behind a desk.”

“I have tried to tell him that we don’t always have a choice,” Molly said briskly, “Sometimes we need to do jobs that we don’t like for a while to work towards something better.”

“That is true in most circumstances,” Hermione agreed, “But not in Charlie’s. He’s a fully qualified dragonologist, the work that he does puts him in high demand in certain countries but unfortunately, Britain just isn’t one of them. I don’t think he should throw all of that hard work away to get a desk job at the Ministry, he’s better than that.”

Molly tried not to look miffed at Hermione’s comment, “Well what would you suggest he does?”

“I’m not sure,” Hermione admitted, “But I’ve been asking around the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They are keeping their eyes open for him and if something comes up, I’ll let him know.”

“That’s very kind of you dear,” Molly said, “But you should be looking out for yourself at this time.”

Hermione sighed, she knew it was going to come up eventually, “I’m looking out for other people so I can distract myself from my pain. Is that such a bad way to deal with it?”

Molly smiled sadly, “There are worse ways, but there are better ways too. You could see someone-”

“I don’t need help from a healer Molly,” Hermione said sharply, “I’ll deal with this my way and you will all deal with it your way. Just promise me that you won’t interfere and that you will stop bringing me food.”

Molly sighed but nodded, “Okay,” she said simply.

The air felt slightly awkward between them for the first time, but it was shortly broken by a shout from above.

“ALBUS! I HATE YOU!”

Hermione bit her lip in amusement, “I guess the prank worked then.”

Molly looked like she was trying not to laugh as she agreed, “So it seems.”

Before any more could be said between the two women, the backdoor opened and the entire Weasley clan marched in with rosy cheeks.

“I did not cheat George!” Ginny was saying loudly as they clattered into the kitchen.

“Since when is catching the snitch in-between your legs allowed?” George fumed.

“There’s nothing to say it isn’t,” Harry said as he smirked at his wife, “And it was very skilful.”

Angelina snorted in amusement, “It was impressive, I’ll give you that Ginny.”

“Even if it was totally accidental,” Bill cut in.

“It was not!” Ginny objected.

“Oh come on,” Charlie piped up, “You were practically falling off your broom when you caught it.”

Ginny glared at him, “I liked it better when you were on another continent.”

“Ginny!” Molly scalded.

Charlie just laughed and said, “Watch it, or I might just go back to get away from you insufferable brats.”

“Thanks, Char,” Bill said as he patted his brother on the back, “I’m really feeling that brotherly love.”

“Hey, you could come with me,” Charlie joked, “You were the only one who actually visited me out there.”

“That was because nobody else wanted to go into your mud hut,” Ginny teased.

“Ginny!” Molly scolded again.

Hermione sniggered to herself at the exchange between the Weasley children, some things never did change.

“It wasn’t a mud hut, it was a stone hut,” Charlie objected, “And it was very cosy.”

“I’m sure it was darling,” Molly said calmly, “Now, are you hungry? Food is ready and Hermione has laid the table beautifully.”

This drew all of the Weasley’s attention to Hermione. They all turned to look at her and Hermione waved awkwardly, “I know I’ve missed a couple of dinners but I’m not exactly a nargle am I?”

Ginny grinned at this, “Luna would be proud,” she joked.

“What the hell is a nargle?” Percy muttered as the group descended on the table.

“I have no idea,” Audrey, his wife, whispered back.

“Arthur, can you retrieve the trouble makers outside?” Molly asked as she shouted up the stairs, “Lunch is served!”

As the Weasley’s swooped on their usual seats, Hermione felt a little bit sick all of a sudden. She hoped someone would sit on her right side rather than leaving a gaping hole where Ron usually sat. Harry sat down on her left side, as he always had and Ginny took her seat opposite Hermione as usual. The table gradually filled up and Hermione was certain she was going to be left with a gap until Charlie sat down heavily in the chair Ron usually occupied.

Hermione could have sighed with relief but she didn’t. She just shot Charlie a grateful smile and glanced over at Harry.

“Am I allowed to talk to you?” Harry asked tentatively, “Or are you going to fob me off on someone else like you did with Greengrass?”

“I am sorry about that,” Hermione said as she bit her lip, “You annoyed her on purpose to get back at me, didn’t you?”

“Maybe,” Harry said, smirking slightly.

“You sneaky little shit,” Hermione muttered under her breath.

Harry just smiled, he was relieved that things felt a little more normal between them, “I’m just glad you’re speaking to me, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Hermione said honestly, “And I know it wasn’t your fault. I just needed to blame someone and you were there so…”

“I get it,” Harry said before Hermione had to finish, “And I’m not angry at you for it either, I do understand exactly why you reacted the way you did.”

“All the same, I’m sorry,” Hermione said as she reached over and squeezed his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ginny smiling slightly from the other side of the table.

Hermione felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest now that she and Harry were back on speaking terms. It made the rest of their lunch pass quickly and enjoyably, Hermione enjoyed making small talk with the Weasley’s so much that she forgot all about her pain for a few hours. The shouts that came from the kid's table and the puffs of smoke from pranks made her smile and laugh, everything felt just the same as it had before with one vital difference; Ron wasn’t here to share it with her anymore.

After lunch Hermione, Ginny and Audrey helped Molly with the dishes. Then the whole extended family ended up in the living room, as they always tended to. The children had run off to various rooms of the house and the adults had split into little groups.

When Hermione stepped into the living room, she noticed that Bill was sitting on his own by the window so she sat down next to him and said, “So, what are we going to do about your brother?”

Bill laughed at that, “I wish I knew, I have tried to get him a job but Gringotts seem to think that no human can tame a dragon better than a goblin.”

Hermione scoffed, “Like Charlie would take the job anyway. You know how he feels about the conditions they keep dragons in down there and honestly, I agree with him.”

“I know,” Bill said quickly, “And to avoid an argument, let’s just not get into it.”

Hermione nodded and glanced across the room to where Charlie was being harassed by Molly, “I’ve tried to get him a job too but the last thing he wants to do is go into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I don’t blame him either, he thinks they care more about regulating creatures than looking after them and he’s completely right.”

Bill sighed, “It’s just frustrating. Charlie is one of the most talented people I know and to see him struggling like this…I hate it.”

Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully, “And your mother just wants him to get a desk job at the Ministry.”

Bill shook his head, “It would suck the joy out of his life. I’ve seen Char depressed once and trust me, for the sake of the rest of the world we don’t want that to happen again. He’s just so bloody stubborn though, he won’t accept help and I know perfectly well he’s sleeping in Dad’s shed.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “He’s sleeping in the shed, outside? In October?”

Bill nodded, “Where else could he be sleeping? Mum converted the two downstairs bedrooms into her crafts room and the playroom for the grandkids. That only leaves 3 spare bedrooms upstairs and with Percy and Audrey’s house being fumigated right now those two, Molly and Lucy are all using up those rooms.”

“So he’s sleeping rough in a bloody shed,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “He does know that I have two spare rooms, right?”

Bill raised an eyebrow, “Hermione, I offered him a bed at my place. Vic and Dom are both at school, I said he could camp out in one of their rooms but he refused. He says that he’s fine and that he’s slept in worst places than a shed.”

“He’s an idiot,” Hermione muttered, “A proud, stubborn idiot just like…”

Bill nodded sadly and placed his hand on Hermione’s, “Ron looked up to Charlie a lot when he was a kid, I think in a lot of ways he sort of embodied him. Maybe you’re the best person to help Charlie, you always were so good at controlling Ron.”

“Only because he was in love with me,” Hermione said pointedly, “Do you think he would have listened to a word I said otherwise?”

“Yeah,” Bill said honestly, “I think he would have.”

Hermione didn’t look quite so convinced but she sighed, “I’ll try and talk some sense into him but I can’t promise anything, okay?”

“Deal,” Bill said with a small smile.

Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get a moment alone with Charlie so she could convince him to accept help from someone. She didn’t get a chance until a few of the other Weasley’s had headed home for the evening because the house got a little quieter.

“So,” Hermione said as she snuck into the kitchen after Charlie, “You sleep in sheds these days, huh?”

“So…you gossip about me to my bitchy brother these days, huh?” Charlie retorted as he put the kettle on.

“Did you just call Bill bitchy?” Hermione asked, the thought vaguely amused her.

“Have you seen who he’s married to? How do you take your tea?”

“Uh…one sugar and milk,” Hermione said, “And for the record, we were talking about you because we were worried about you. I had reason to be, I mean you’re sleeping in a shed.”

“And?” Charlie asked, “What’s so wrong with sleeping in a shed?”

“It’s October in Britain,” Hermione said in disbelief, “You must be freezing out there.”

“I know you’re a muggle-born Hermione but we do have this ‘magic’ stuff,” Charlie teased, “Some bits of it are pretty handy, like warming charms.”

Hermione glared at him, “Yes Charlie, I know what warming charms are. However, I happen to have a house with a spare bedroom. Do you know what’s in that bedroom? A lovely cosy king-size bed and an ensuite shower. I think that’s far more enticing than your Dads shed, don’t you?”

Charlie shook his head and poured out the tea, “As kind an offer as that is, I’m fine where I am.”

“You’re an idiot,” Hermione said simply, “A stubborn, proud idiot just like Ron. I mean this is exactly the kind of thing _he_ would do if I kicked him out. Would he accept help from Harry? No, of course not. He would live like a hobo because he’s an idiot.”

“Thanks,” Charlie said with a slight smile, “You really know how to compliment a guy.”

Hermione glared at him, “You’re staying with me until I can find you a job. I get that you’re having trouble with references so I’ll be a reference for you too. You can’t get much better than a top lawyer at the Ministry and with my connections, I will find you a job.”

“You don’t have to look after me Hermione,” Charlie said, “I’m a fully grown man.”

Hermione’s voice cracked slightly as she said, “I need to look after you Charlie because if I don’t distract myself by worrying about you then the weight of everything else is going to hit me and I’m going to fall apart. I can’t do that, okay? So just let me help you because I _can_ help you and Merlin knows you need help.”

Charlie nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Okay, I get it. Just calm down, getting yourself worked up like this isn’t good for you.”

Hermione let out a shaky breath and nodded, “I’m sorry it’s just…I’m finding it harder than I let on and sometimes I can’t…” she shook her head.

“I know,” Charlie said gently, “And I appreciate your offer of help Hermione, I just don’t feel like I can accept it with everything that’s going on with you right now.”

“Honestly Charlie, you would be helping me,” Hermione said quietly, “The house seems far too big without Ron clattering around making a mess of it. Having someone else there would make it feel a little bit homelier again and Merlin knows it would come in handy having someone else around to keep an eye on the kids while I get myself back on track.”

“Are you sure?” Charlie asked tentatively.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t,” Hermione promised.

Charlie nodded slowly, “Alright, I’ll be over tomorrow night with the few belongings that actually matter to me.”

Hermione nodded at him, “Good,” she said.

“Good,” Charlie agreed with a slight smile, “Now, don’t take this the wrong way but you look exhausted. I think you ought to get the kids and go home for some well-deserved sleep.”

Hermione sighed, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” she agreed, “See you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow,” Charlie echoed.

* * *

“Turn that light out Arthur.”

The landing light fizzled out at the click of Arthur’s fingers. He climbed into bed next to his wife and sighed contently, “I’m glad Hermione came today. I was worried about her when I bumped into her at the Ministry.”

Molly hummed thoughtfully, “I’m still worried about her. She thinks she’s coping but pushing her pain away is a bad idea…it’s just going to crash down on her all at once.”

“Maybe,” Arthur said, “Or maybe not. Hermione will deal with this in whatever way that she can, just like we are. We’re embracing life and trying not to notice the huge gap in our life. How is what Hermione’s doing any different?”

Molly sighed, “I just think she’s keeping it bottled up too much. She needs someone to share her pain with, that was why I suggested that she saw a healer.”

Arthur snorted, “You suggested a healer? Have you met our daughter-in-law?”

Molly scoffed and smacked him on the arm, “I was trying to be helpful.”

“Hermione doesn’t accept help like that,” Arthur said calmly, “Which is why I think Charlie moving in with her is a great idea.”

“What?”

“Charlie,” Arthur said simply, “I spoke to him before I came up to bed. Hermione offered him one of the spare rooms and he agreed to move in with her until he could get him settled here.”

“I wasn’t aware that Hermione and Charlie were particularly close,” Molly mused.

“Neither was I,” Arthur admitted, “But it doesn’t surprise me that the two of them get on. They share a love for all things creature, magical and otherwise. They do have a lot in common…do you remember last Christmas when they were on the same charades team?”

Molly chuckled under her breath, “Do I remember their re-enactment of the goblin rebellion? How could I forget it? Even after a bottle of sherry.”

Arthur chuckled along with his wife, “I think it’s going to be good for both of them, being under the same roof.”

“I agree with you,” Molly said, “Of all of our boys, Charlie and Ron always were the most similar. If anyone can get through to Charlie, it’s Hermione.”

“She’s the perfect person to find him a job,” Arthur agreed, “And you know Charlie adores Rosie and Hugo, I think he’ll be a great help to Hermione.”

Molly hummed thoughtfully, “He’s a very good listener too, our Charlie. I think that’s just what Hermione needs right now.”

Arthur yawned and rolled over, “Exactly. Now, try to stop worrying about everyone and get some sleep love.”

* * *

Monday morning was hectic, as it always was in Hermione’s house. No one was running late yet, but Hugo was complaining about his lost teddy and Rose was refusing to wear her school uniform.

“Your teddy’s in the lounge, Hugo!” Hermione called up to her son’s bedroom before turning to her daughter, “Now, what exactly is wrong with school uniform today?”

“It’s restricting my creativity,” Rose said matter of factly, “I feel like I’m just another number, not an individual.”

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she pulled the milk from the fridge and put the kettle on, “Well, why don’t you wear something in your hair to make you stand out? How about my bright green hairband? That will certainly stick out against a red uniform.”

Rose seemed to think about this for a moment, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Hermione hid her amused smile, “It’s in my bedroom, go and get it after you’ve changed.”

Without another word, Rose disappeared. Hermione busied herself by making a cup of tea and preparing two bowls of lucky charms for the children, she wasn’t having breakfast herself today because she felt like a bundle of nerves. She had to break the news to the kids that their Uncle would be coming to stay, and she had to come to terms with the fact she had invited Charlie, who she barely knew, to live with them.

The two kids clattered down the stairs noisily and took their places at the table. As their metal spoons clinked against their cereal bowls, Hermione turned around and put on a smile, “So, I have something to tell the both of you this morning. Uncle Charlie is going to be coming to live with us for a little while.”

“Cool!” Hugo said immediately, “I love Uncle Charlie! His dragon tattoo’s _moved,_ Mum!”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I know they do, Hugo.”

“Why’s he coming to stay here Mum?” Hugo asked through a mouthful of cereal.

“Well…” Hermione began, “Family look out for each other so we’re just helping him by giving him somewhere to stay until he has his own house. He’s lived out of the UK for a long time after all.”

Rose raised an eyebrow at her mother, “It’s because he’s unemployed, isn’t it?”

Hermione had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at her precocious daughter, “Not exactly.”

“That’s what Grandma said to Auntie Angie yesterday,” Rose said sincerely.

“Uncle Charlie doesn’t have a job,” Hermione agreed, “But he is trying very hard to get one and I’m going to help him with that. In return, he’s going to be around to pick you two up from school for the next little while. Are you both okay with that?”

Hugo nodded eagerly. Hermione looked to the more problematic of the two children, but Rose just nodded and said, “Yes, I like Uncle Charlie.”

“Alright,” Hermione said as she let out a sigh of relief, “He will be over later tonight with his things so you two had better be on your best behaviour over dinner tonight.”

“Yes Mum,” The two kids echoed.

Hermione smiled at them and added, “Chop chop! If you don’t eat up, we’ll be late for school.”

* * *

“Do you have time for a coffee, Suse?”

Susan looked up from her desk, “Is this a work-related coffee or a friendship coffee?”

“Does it make a difference?” Hermione asked.

Susan smirked, “If it’s work-related I have the company card.”

Hermione chuckled and replied, “Then it’s definitely work-related and I’m thinking of Starbucks?”

Susan grinned and grabbed her coat. The two women slipped out of the building together and were seated in a quiet corner of Starbucks less than 10 minutes later.

“So this completely un-work related issue?” Susan prompted as she stirred her cappuccino.

Hermione bit her lip, “I invited Ron’s brother to move in with me and he said yes so he’s moving in tonight.”

Susan raised an eyebrow at her friend, “You invited you dead husband’s hot older brother to live with you?”

“Yes,” Hermione rolled her eyes, “Is that really what we’re always going to call him?”

“Yes,” Susan said matter of factly, “I find it to be a very factual description.”

“Fine,” Hermione said irritably, “Just tell me, what the hell do I do now? My dead husband’s hot older brother is moving into my house in less than 6 hours.”

“Why did you invite him to live with you anyway?” Susan asked.

“Because he was living in a shed!” Hermione exclaimed, “I mean, who lives in a shed?”

“Well, he is a Weasley,” Susan joked.

Hermione scoffed, “Now you just sound like Draco Malfoy.”

Susan shook her head, “Nah if I wanted to sound like Draco I would have said, red hair and a hand-me-down robe? He must be a Weasley.”

Hermione smiled slightly sadly at the memory, “How did you know he said that to Ron?”

“I was standing behind him at the time,” Susan said, “I remember thinking that he sounded like a total prat, but a sassy one at that.”

Hermione snorted, “That does not surprise me considering that you’re friends with the arrogant prat.”

“He is arrogant and he is a prat,” Susan agreed, “But if he likes you, he’s a very useful friend to have. He can get you lots of interesting things.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that since he runs an apothecary and we’re lawyers,” Hermione said with an amused smile.

Susan chuckled, “So back to your dilemma then. Why are you worried about Charlie moving in?”

“Because I don’t know him very well,” Hermione said honestly, “He was always in another country so sometimes I only saw him once a year for the Weasley family Christmas. I can count on one hand the number of conversations I had with him before Ron died. Ever since then though…he’s been a huge help.”

“Then maybe it’s going to be a good thing, having him in the house,” Susan said wisely, “He’s clearly helping you out which is good, it means you aren’t bottling things up like you normally do.”

“I suppose,” Hermione sighed, “And it is only a temporary thing, he’s struggling to find a job and until he gets a job, he can’t get a flat.”

“Can’t you help him find a job?” Susan asked, “You started in the DRCMC, didn’t you?”

Hermione nodded as she sipped her coffee, “Uh-huh, but Charlie’s ethics are very similar to mine. He’ll never take up a job in the department for the same reason that I left it. That limits his prospects…but I’m on the case, I have my feelers out.”

“Then don’t worry about it,” Susan said with a smile, “I’m sure he won’t be staying for long and while he is there you can get back on your feet again.”

Hermione nodded and tried to convince herself that Susan was right, “Yeah, I’m sure I have nothing to worry about,” she agreed absentmindedly.

* * *

By the time Charlie knocked on the door that night, Hermione was more nervous than she had been in years. She practically jumped out of her seat in alarm when she heard the knock on the kitchen door. All the same, she took a breath and pulled it open, greeting Charlie with a smile.

“Hey,” He said, somewhat awkwardly.

“Hey,” Hermione returned, she frowned as she glanced at him once more, “Where are your things?”

“In the rucksack,” Charlie said as he stepped into the kitchen.

“You managed to fit everything you own in a rucksack?” Hermione asked in surprise as she shut the door behind him.

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “Coming from the girl who took everything but – actually you probably did take the kitchen sink with you – on the run with her during the war?”

Hermione blushed slightly, “Expansion charm, of course.”

Charlie smiled somewhat fondly at her, “I do wonder if you’re a witch or not sometimes,” he teased.

Hermione wanted to smile or laugh at his comment, but instead, she grimaced. It took her back so many years to that moment when she, Ron and Harry had all been trapped by the devil’s snare. Ron’s words echoed loudly in her head, _“Hermione, are you a witch or not?”_

Charlie frowned, “I’ve said the wrong thing, haven’t I?”

“No,” Hermione sighed with a shake of her head, “It’s just memories. They have a way of resurfacing, whether we want them to or not.”

“Yes, our brains are our worst enemies at times,” Charlie agreed.

Hermione nodded and cleared her throat, “Anyway, let me show you to your bedroom before dinner. There are two spare rooms but one of them is more of a box with a bed shoved into it,” she said as she led Charlie up the stairs onto the first landing, “The room at the end there is mine, this one is Rose’s and this one is Hugo’s. Oh and there’s a bathroom at the far end of the hall.”

Charlie nodded, and Hermione continued up another set of stairs, “The third floor is quite small but you have the complete run of it so feel free to get comfortable. This is the box room here, there’s a desk in there if you ever want to use it.”

Hermione led him into another, far larger room, “And this will be your room while you’re staying here. That’s the door to your ensuite bathroom there and there’s a little balcony here too, it’s a beautiful view over the hills.”

Charlie walked straight to the balcony and opened the door, “It is a beautiful view. Is your bedroom this nice?”

Hermione chuckled, “No, I think they intended this to be the master bedroom, to be honest with you. It just never worked for Ron and I though; he said he hated being the one at the top of the house all of the time, and it wouldn’t have been practical to be on a different floor from the kids when they were little.”

Charlie smiled to himself, “It’s funny, I always envied Ron for having that room at the top of the house all to himself. There was me sharing the bottom floor with Bill and his rock music and Mum with her endless Celestina Warbeck concerts floating through from the kitchen.”

“It’s funny how you always want what someone else has,” Hermione agreed thoughtfully.

Charlie nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah…it is funny.”

Hermione asked, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“No,” Charlie replied, “And I smelled something fantastic in the kitchen earlier.”

“Fish pie,” Hermione chuckled, “Which should just about be ready. I’ll show you around downstairs and then I’ll call the kids down.”

“I never realised you had such a big house,” Charlie admitted as they descended two sets of stairs towards the ground floor.

Hermione nodded, “We always wanted lots of spare rooms so that all the cousins could come and stay. As it goes though, they all just have their big sleepovers at the Burrow so the spare rooms never really get used.”

“I bet they will when the kids go to Hogwarts,” Charlie said, “I expect Rosie will befriend a tearaway like Harry who’ll end up tagging around every summer.”

Hermione laughed at that, “No doubt,” she agreed, “So, you know where the kitchen is. Through here is the living room and across the hall there you have another bathroom. There’s a smaller reception room through the back there but it’s just a playroom for the kids these days.”

Charlie nodded, “You have a lovely house.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said with a smile. She wasn’t quite sure what more to say, but she was saved by the high-pitched ring of a timer coming from the kitchen.

“Shall I retrieve the tearaways then?” Charlie joked.

Hermione laughed, “Yes please, they are playing dragons and house-elves in the playroom. Don’t ask me how the game works, they have tried to explain it and I have never understood.”

Charlie laughed heartily and headed in the direction Hermione had pointed. Hermione tried not to dwell on how comfortable it all felt as she dashed into the kitchen to save her fish pie.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	4. Your Last Broken Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Your Last Broken Heart by Eli Young Band  
> (Have you noticed that I like country music?)

When Hermione stepped into the kitchen the morning after Charlie had moved in, she was fully dressed with her hair tamed and all of her glamour charms applied, she expected to find her two kids causing chaos as usual while Charlie slept on upstairs.

Instead, she found a perfectly serene, completely out of the ordinary, scene in her kitchen.

Rose was fully dressed and halfway through a bowl of cereal and Hugo was sitting in his chair properly, eating breakfast. Hermione stopped in her tracks, she had already opened her mouth, ready to yell at Hugo for not touching his food or to ask Rose why she looked so glum this morning, or to shout up the stairs to Ron that he had to get up or he was going to be late.

Charlie smiled up from his cup of coffee, “Apparently Hugo only likes lucky charms but they are pretty unhealthy so I suggested a mixture of lucky charms and wholegrain cheerios which seems to be going down okay, and Rose and I have had a conversation about appropriate ways to express your individuality while still wearing your school uniform.”

“Uncle Charlie gave me lots of pins Mum!” Rose said, pointing to one of a welsh green on her chest.

Hermione was stunned, but Charlie misread the expression on her face. He got to his feet and walked closer to her, “I’m sorry, I’ve overstepped haven’t I?”

Hermione shook her head and swallowed, “No, no I just didn’t expect you to be able to reign them in so well. They are hard work in the morning and to be honest, I didn’t expect you to be awake.”

“I’m an early riser,” Charlie admitted, “I spent so many years in Romania having to get up to feed the dragons before sunrise that most mornings, I can’t sleep beyond 6 am anymore.”

Hermione nodded and forced a smile onto her face, “Thank you, I appreciate it. Getting them ready is usually a struggle that makes me almost late for work.”

“Didn’t Ron drop them off at school?” Charlie asked, and Hermione still felt a pang at Ron’s name, she knew they couldn’t not talk about him forever, “He started an hour later than you didn’t he?”

“Yes but he often worked late nights and longer days, so he needed to sleep in the morning,” Hermione explained.

Charlie frowned but didn’t say anything further on the subject.

Hermione busied herself with making a cup of coffee, still reeling from how well and how quickly, Charlie seemed to be settling in. She tried to clear her head and focus on what had to be done at work that day, she knew it was going to be a busy one because it was the day of the Barbara Woods trial.

“Charlie, I might be late home tonight,” Hermione said, she turned around and cradled her cup of coffee, “I have a murder trial, I’m not the head lawyer on it, I’m just assisting but if the trial runs over, I will have to stay until it concludes.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Charlie said with a wave of his hand, “It’s not as if I have anything else to do.”

Hermione smiled at him, “Thank you, I really appreciate you helping us out.”

“You’re putting a roof over my head and helping me get a job Hermione, it’s the least I can do,” Charlie said simply.

Hermione gave him a brief nod then clapped her hands, “Right you two, come on, time for school.”

Hugo shoved his feet into his trainers and Rose put her jacket on then slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“Coat on Hugo, it’s freezing outside,” Hermione said.

“Dad didn’t wear a coat when it was cold,” Hugo objected.

“Dad could apparate Hugo, duh,” Rose added.

Hermione swallowed and said, “Dad got a bad cold every winter because he didn’t wear a coat so put your coat on Hugo.”

Hugo reluctantly put his coat on then said, “Did Dad die of a cold?”

Hermione took a shaky breath, aware of Charlie watching the whole exchange, “No, Dad died in an accident.”

“Like a car accident?” Rose asked.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly and was grateful when Charlie jumped in, “Your Dad had a very dangerous job guys. He helped protect people like us from very bad people, but those bad people didn’t like that. One of those bad people, they got to your Dad and that’s why he’s not with us anymore. Do you understand?”

Rose nodded glumly, “Dad got killed.”

“What does killed mean Uncle Charlie?”

Hermione gripped the kitchen counter and tried to stop herself from crying as Charlie said, “It means someone bad took your Dad away Hugo.”

“Oh…okay.”

“Time for school,” Hermione said shakily, “Get your bag, Hugo.”

“Come on Hugo,” Rose said, taking Hugo’s hand and leading him out into the hall.

“I’m sorry Hermione,” Charlie said, and Hermione jumped when he placed his hand on her arm.

“No…they needed to know the truth. I just thought they were too young but you were right to tell them,” Hermione said, she looked in his eyes and saw them swimming with sadness.

She could feel herself welling up, and Charlie began to ask, “Hermione, are you okay-”

“No Charlie,” Hermione said, tearing her eyes away, “Because I can’t look into your eyes without seeing Ron right now, I just can’t.”

Charlie nodded and dropped his hand from her arm, “I get it, Hermione,” he promised.

At that point, the kids came back into the kitchen and Hermione used this as her chance to escape, “Are you all ready?”

“Yep,” Hugo said.

Rose nodded, “Uh-huh.”

Hermione grabbed her red coat and her handbag, “Okay then, let’s get you guys to school. See you tonight Charlie.”

“See ya,” Charlie said with a wave.

Hermione led the kids outside and they made the short journey to school and nursery. Hermione and Hugo waved Rose off and then headed to the nursery.

Just as Hermione was changing Hugo’s shoes and hanging his coat up, Harry stepped into the hallway with Lily.

“Hugo!”

“Lily!”

“Hey, shoes changed before you run off to play with your best pal,” Harry said with a smile.

Hermione smiled too as she stood up and helped Hugo off of the bench. Harry changed Lily’s shoes in record time and hung her bag on her peg.

“Alright,” He said, “See you tonight baby, Grandma is going to pick you up and take you to her house this afternoon.”

“Is Hugo coming too?” Lily asked Hermione eagerly.

“No sweetie, Uncle Charlie is picking Hugo up and taking him home today,” Hermione said.

Lily’s face fell, “Oh…okay. Bye Daddy.”

“Bye Lil,” Harry said, waving to his daughter as she took Hugo’s hand and they dashed into the nursery room.

“You okay?” Harry asked as he and Hermione left the nursery together, “You seem a bit off colour this morning.”

“I shouldn’t have asked Charlie to move in,” Hermione blurted out as they crossed the playground.

Harry frowned, “I thought you figured he would be a help? You know with childcare and everything.”

“I did think that,” Hermione said, her voice caught in her throat as she struggled to keep it together. They stepped into the alley opposite the school that they both used to apparate from and it all came out, “But Harry, I can’t look at him without seeing Ron. When I look at his eyes, I just-” she choked out the words, “- I just feel like I’m looking into Ron’s eyes.”

Harry sighed and pulled her into a hug, “I suppose he does look a little Ron and he is the only other Weasley apart from Bill who has the blue eyes.”

“It’s really hard having him there all the time,” Hermione said as she breathed in Harry’s familiar scent, “But at the same time, it’s nice to have company.”

“You’re just really confused right now Hermione, and nobody could blame you,” Harry promised her, “It’s okay to not feel okay, that’s what Charlie told me after the war.”

“How long did it take for you to feel okay?” Hermione asked as she drew back and dried her eyes.

“Honestly, I never felt the same, but I did feel okay after a few months,” Harry said, his green eyes searching hers, “I’m worried about you Hermione, will you maybe spend a couple of lunches a week with me? Like you used to before…”

Hermione took a shaky breath and nodded, “Yes, as long as you come to my office because I can’t…I can’t sit there where his cubicle was and-”

“I get it,” Harry cut her off, “That is more than okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then okay?”

“Okay,” Hermione said quietly.

“And good luck with the Barbara Woods trial today,” Harry added.

“Thanks, Harry,” Hermione said, she touched up her glamour charms and glanced at the time, “Speaking of which, I really need to get to work. See you tomorrow.”

Harry just nodded as Hermione spun on her heel and apparated to work. She didn’t bump into anyone she knew on her way to her department that day thankfully.

She wasn’t surprised to discover, when she stepped into Daphne’s office, that she was the last to arrive for the pre-trial meeting.

“Sorry,” Hermione said quietly, “I had a tough time getting the kids to school and nursery.”

“It’s fine, we were waiting for you before we got started,” Daphne said calmly.

Hermione sat down and was aware of Susan eyeing her suspiciously, but she began before Susan could say anything, “So the trial? We have enough evidence that isn’t circumstantial?”

“I hate to say this, but thanks to Potter, yes we do,” Daphne replied.

“He should go down this time,” Susan said confidently, “Having some circumstantial evidence in one murder case is one thing, that combined with solid evidence for another murder case? That’s something a jury will listen to.”

“Good,” Hermione said firmly, “So Daphne, you’re the head on this one. Suse, you’re keeping things running up here while we’re in trial and I assume I am taking notes and doing the paperwork?”

“That would be correct,” Daphne said.

“Alright, then I think we are all as prepped for the trial as we possibly can be,” Hermione said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

“And it doesn’t start for half an hour,” Susan said, leaning back in her chair, “Which means we can grill you on why you came in with a face like fizz this morning.”

Hermione sighed, she had seen it coming. After all, she had been a lawyer for the past 7 years and during those entire 7 years, she had been working with Susan and Daphne. Although she still felt closer to Susan, the two girls were her closest friends beyond Harry.

“I should never have invited Charlie to live with me,” Hermione admitted as she let her head fall into her hands, “He reminds me of Ron so much that it hurts just to look at him sometimes. I mean most of the time he’s a help, he managed to get both of the kids ready for school this morning you know? But then depending on how I’m feeling, sometimes I look at him and all I can see is Ron and I’m flooded with guilt and pain and sadness.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow, “That is a lot for 8.40 am on a Monday.”

“Yeah,” Susan agreed, “But I can understand where you’re coming from. You miss Ron, but you feel guilty about that because you were all set to divorce him for his indiscretions. You like Charlie, but every so often he reminds you of Ron and that brings all of that guilt and sadness bubbling back to the surface.”

Hermione nodded glumly.

“Pretty impressive that your kids' childless uncle managed to get them ready for school though,” Daphne pointed out.

“He just used logic,” Hermione said nonchalantly, “It was quite brilliant actually, how he got Hugo to eat his cereal…”

“I think having someone else in the house to keep an eye on you can only be a good thing Hermione,” Susan said honestly, “I’m not saying that you are liable to spiralling when things go sour, but I remember how you were after the war.”

Hermione swallowed hard.

“You do tend to retreat into yourself,” Daphne said honestly, “And when you have kids, that’s not a good thing. I know that Charlie reminds you of Ron and the Weasley’s, but since your parents died, they are the only family that you have and you cannot afford to let that suffer, for the sake of your children as much as anything else.”

Hermione nodded, “How do you know so much about it, Daphne?”

Daphne didn’t talk about herself very often, it was clear that doing so made her feel uncomfortable, “When my mother died, my father retreated into himself to the extent that he lost sight of what was happening with my sister and I. As a result of that, Astoria and I do not talk to our father very much anymore so in losing himself, he lost everything.”

“That is very wise,” Susan said thoughtfully, “And true.”

Hermione nodded again and sighed heavily, “I’m trying very hard not to lose myself but I feel like I’m lying to everyone, not just to myself. I mean being at work with you two is okay because you know the whole story but nobody else does, not Harry or any of the Weasley’s.”

“Do you think you ought to tell them?” Daphne asked.

Hermione frowned, “What good would it do? Ron’s gone now and my mother always taught me not to slander the dead.”

“But when the dead were unfaithful bastards, don’t you think that’s an exception?” Susan asked bluntly.

“I understand what you mean about it not doing any good,” Daphne said honestly, “But maybe it would help people like Harry, and Charlie, to understand why you are unravelling so much. You aren’t being eaten up by sadness, you are being eaten up by guilt because a little part of you feels free.”

Hermione shut her eyes tightly, “I would never have wished this on Ron, _never_. Yes, I wanted him out of my house, I didn’t want him to be my husband anymore but I always wanted him to be involved with his children.”

“We know,” Susan said gently, “We weren’t suggesting for a moment that you wanted him dead. Were we Daph?”

Daphne shook her head, “No, just that you feel like his death has freed you and that makes you feel guilty.”

“And we think you should talk to someone, other than us, about that,” Susan finished.

“I might,” Hermione conceded, although she had no intentions whatsoever to do so, “But right now, I’m going to grab my notes and head down to the courtroom.”

“Alright,” Daphne said calmly, “I will see you there.”

* * *

When Hermione dragged herself into the house not long after 4 pm that evening she was exhausted. The trial, which had begun at 9 pm, had broken three times before a verdict had finally been agreed at 3.30 pm. It had been hellish, she and Daphne had to bring in new lawyers, scramble for more concrete evidence during the breaks, and fight like hell to win.

“You look wiped.”

Hermione looked up at Charlie and yawned, “You don’t want to hear about it,” she said because Ron never had. He had been busy himself, he had just come home from a stressful day, the last thing he wanted to hear was legal crap from her day.

“No, I really do,” Charlie said honestly, “And I made dinner. The kids ate already, they were starving, I did try and convince them to wait.”

“No, it’s okay,” Hermione said, “I should have told you, Hugo has a woodland walk on a Monday and Rosie has gym last thing, they are often hungry when they come home.”

“Well that explains it,” Charlie smiled, “Hugo promised me that you liked chicken stew which is a good thing because it’s the only thing I know how to cook.”

“There’s not much I won’t eat,” Hermione said honestly as she sat down heavily at the table.

Charlie plated up two bowls from the pot on the stove and sat down opposite Hermione, “I guess the trial didn’t go in your favour then?”

“No, it did in the end,” Hermione said as she picked up her fork, “That’s the thing, I should be happy because we won but Daphne fought so hard for that win and somehow, it still wasn’t enough.”

“Daphne Greengrass?”

Hermione nodded, “Yeah, I work with her and Susan Bones. Do you know her?”

“I know of her,” Charlie admitted, “Her older brother worked with me in Romania for a bit, he was scorned by their Father because he was the product of an affair so he ran away to play with dragons, like me.”

“Oh,” Hermione frowned, “I didn’t know that.”

“It’s not the kind of thing purebloods want to publicise,” Charlie shrugged, “But go on.”

Hermione swallowed her mouthful and said, “The trial started at 9 am and we didn’t get a verdict until 3.30 pm. Daphne had to bring Harry in on his lunch break to see if we could claw out any more evidence. We had evidence, yes some of it was circumstantial, but Charlie, the bastard smirked throughout the whole damn trial, he had done it and he was so sure he was going to get away with it! It was like Lucius Malfoy all over again!”

“But he got his comeuppance?” Charlie asked.

“The jury convicted him of being guilty, but he killed two women and he got 10 years in Azkaban,” Hermione fumed, “10 years and then he will be back out on the streets, all because too much of our evidence was circumstantial!”

Charlie smiled slightly, “You love what you do, that much is clear.”

“Most days, I do,” Hermione agreed, “But on days like today…I just don’t feel good enough.”

“I think everyone feels like that some days, regardless of the job that they are in,” Charlie assured her.

Hermione sighed and stabbed her chicken a little angrily, “Anyway, how have the kids been today?”

“They have been good as gold,” Charlie promised her, “Like their Mother that way, I suppose.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “No issues with getting Rose home from school?”

“Oh she didn’t want to walk the ordinary way because there was too much air pollution from the road,” Charlie said with an amused smile, “So we took a shortcut through the woods, saw a couple of fox’s dens and saved a hedgehog that was about to be eaten. They introduced me to this game about poo sticks as well?”

Hermione laughed, “Pooh sticks; when you each throw a stick into a river by a bridge and see whose stick comes out on the other side first?”

“That’s the one,” Charlie grinned, “It was a lot of fun actually. But Rose is just you through and through, isn’t she?”

“To a tee,” Hermione chuckled, “It bothered Ron sometimes, he said it wouldn’t get her far when she went to school. I suppose he was right, I was bullied for being the way I was.”

“People only bullied you because they were intimidated by you,” Charlie said, “And being true to yourself through that, only shows how strong a person you were and always have been.”

“I’m not that strong,” Hermione objected, “Or I would be dealing with this better than I am.”

“Hermione, how many people do you think could go back to work a week after their Husbands funeral?” Charlie asked pointedly.

And Hermione lost it a little bit, she put her fork down and asked, “Where are the kids?”

“Outside in the playhouse,” Charlie replied calmly.

“Okay, I’m going to hit you with a home truth, Charlie,” Hermione said steadily, “Ron and I were not just on the brink of divorce. Two weeks before Ron died, I found out that there was no Auror poker night on Friday nights, because I bumped into Harry who wasn’t there. Through finding that out, I followed Ron the following Friday and I found him fucking a secretary half his age so maybe I am dealing with his death a little too well and maybe it’s because I’m glad that he’s gone.”

Charlie stared at her for a long moment and then said, “Well that just confirms a hunch I had for a long time, my youngest brother was a fucking idiot.”

Hermione let out a shaky breath, “That’s the first thing you say after what I just told you? Not that I’m a terrible person?”

“You are not a terrible person,” Charlie said firmly, “You are a very good person, a beautiful, intelligent, enigma of a person. And I never thought Ron appreciated that to be honest Hermione, from the minute you two got together that idiot took you for granted. He didn’t wake up in the morning to take his kids to school? He didn’t want to hear about your day when you got in? I’m sorry for slandering the dead, I really am, especially because this is my brother that I’m talking about but you did not deserve that.”

Hermione stared at him in disbelief.

“And why anyone would stray when they had _you_ to come home to,” Charlie added with a shake of his head, “That just baffles me.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Charlie, you don’t have to flatter me or insult Ron just to make me feel better.”

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Charlie promised, “And I swear I will not say anything further on the subject. I’m well aware that despite what Ron did to you, you are struggling to come to terms with his death and right now all I’m interested in is helping you and your kids through that.”

“I’m not struggling to come to terms with his death,” Hermione said honestly, she hadn’t intended to tell Charlie this, but yet here she was, telling him all about it anyway, “I’m struggling to come to terms with my guilt which was why initially, I pushed that onto Harry in some veiled attempt to make myself feel better. Susan was right this morning, I’m not sad that Ron’s gone, I feel free and I feel awful for feeling that, let alone saying it out loud.”

“It doesn’t make you a bad person Hermione,” Charlie promised her, “You are an honourable person and the idea of quitting on anything, particularly something as sacred as marriage, is just not you. If Ron hadn’t died, you might have forced yourself to remain unhappy with him for years so of course, you feel free, it’s natural.”

Hermione let her head drop into her hands, “When I asked him why he did it, do you know what he said Charlie?”

Charlie just shook his head.

“He said I was boring,” Hermione said, her voice caught, “He said that all I did was work or read or bang on about house-elf rights and how the hell was that sexy? He said that she excited him in a way that I never had.”

Charlie shook his head irritably, “I know I’m not an expert on relationships Hermione, but I understand that a good relationship is based on mutual respect and that… that is a man who did not respect you. I’m sorry to say this about my brother, but that…that behaviour is disgusting.”

Hermione sighed deeply, “This is why I was keeping it in Charlie, what difference does it make now? Ron is gone, what use does slandering the dead do? It doesn’t make me feel any better and it just makes you feel angry so what could anyone possibly gain from talking about it?”

“You need to talk about it,” Charlie said firmly, “Because keeping it in is hurting you and from what you have just told me, that _idiot_ was hurting you enough when he was alive. Don’t let him keep hurting you from beyond the grave.”

Hermione let out a shaky breath, she felt flooded all of a sudden with relief.

“Was she at the funeral?”

Hermione nodded glumly, “She hid out in the back but I spotted her, although it was kind of hard to recognise her with her clothes on.”

Charlie scoffed, “I’m sorry Hermione but I can’t fathom what Ron did, I just can’t. I’ve spent my whole life looking for someone who gets me, looking for my soulmate if such a thing exists. I just cannot understand why Ron would feel the need to look for more when he had everything he needed in you.”

“Clearly, I wasn’t everything he needed,” Hermione said quietly, “And I think I knew that Charlie. He didn’t make me happy, but by the time I realised that it was too late. I couldn’t talk to him about my work because he didn’t care or couldn’t understand. He was never on board with S.P.E.W or any of my campaigns for creatures rights, he wanted kids but then he wanted to be a weekend Dad and not take on any of the responsibility that came with those kids.”

Charlie reached across the table and grabbed her hand as she tried to steady her breathing. She didn’t mean it, but her magic spiked accidentally upon his touch.

“Woah,” Charlie said, pulling his hand back, “That’s impressive.”

“I’m so sorry,” Hermione said sheepishly as she took another steadying breath and grabbed his hand, there was a small burn on the palm of his hand.

“No, don’t be sorry,” Charlie said with a wave of his good hand, “I’ve just never seen a magic spike like that.”

“It happens when I’m emotional,” Hermione murmured.

“Hermione, people with magic spikes become Aurors like Harry or something equally powerful,” Charlie said quietly, “They don’t sit in an office doing paperwork.”

“I told you, I do it for the kids,” Hermione said quietly, “I’ve been a lawyer since Rose was born.”

“Does it make you happy though?” Charlie asked pointedly.

Hermione sighed and busied herself with healing the burn on Charlie’s hand, “I like the people that I work with,” she conceded.

“I liked the people that I worked with,” Charlie said, “And the dragons, I miss them more than the people I think.”

“You know,” Hermione said thoughtfully, “We were all pretty sure that you were gay.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “Were you?”

“That or, more interested in dragons than humans,” Hermione joked.

Charlie laughed in that deep, unique way that gave Hermione goosebumps.

Charlie smiled at her, “I’ll be honest with you Hermione, I am not by any stretch of the imagination exclusively straight.”

Hermione’s eyebrows shot up, “No?”

“No,” Charlie said, a smile playing on his lips, “I can imagine that comes as a surprise to you, being the goody little two shoes that you are.”

Hermione laughed lightly, “I’m not as sweet and innocent as you think I am Charlie, but that is a conversation for another night.”

Charlie was fully intending to hold her to that one.

Hermione’s smile never faltered, “So is that why you never settled down?”

“Maybe that was part of it,” Charlie admitted, “Bringing home a guy to Mum would not have gone down well, but to be honest, I never met anyone, male or female, worthy of bringing home to meet Mum. When you work on a dragon reserve, there are far more men than women and we spend months out there in the wild, with nobody else to talk to. If you aren’t at least a little bit curious when you start, you will be by the time you leave.”

“I can understand that,” Hermione said honestly, and Charlie was impressed, he thought Hermione would have been knocked for six by this revelation.

“Can you?” Charlie asked, searching her eyes for any sign of disgust or discomfort, but there was none.

Hermione smiled sadly at him, “I can, I have friends who, like you, care more about the _person_ than the gender of the person. In fact, from what I know, I think it’s a rather common thing among purebloods, even if most of the well-to-do families hide it well. I suppose this makes sense of why Daphne knows you so well, you were involved with her brother weren’t you?”

Charlie nodded, “You are quick to cotton on.”

“Actually, I’m just highly logical which allows me to look past extraneous detail and perceive clearly that which others overlook,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

Charlie laughed heartily, “I like you, Hermione, I’m sorry we never became friends sooner.”

Hermione smiled, “Me too, but you know though Charlie…I am sorry that you never settled down.”

Charlie smiled sadly, “It is what it is Hermione, but don’t dwell on my loneliness, I’ve gotten used to it. This is new to you, you’re used to having someone to share a bed with, to share your life with.”

“Sharing your life with someone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Hermione said quietly.

“Not when you pick the wrong person,” Charlie agreed.

Before anything more could be said, the back door opened and two rosy-cheeked kids ran in.

“Mum, you’re home!”

Hermione laughed and pulled Hugo into a big hug, “I’m home sweetie.”

“We were playing like we were werewolves in the shrieking shack Mum!” Rose exclaimed.

“I was the werewolf,” Hugo said proudly.

“Oh your Uncle Billy would be proud,” Charlie joked, ruffling Hugo’s hair.

“Oh hush Charlie,” Hermione chuckled, “Uncle Bill isn’t really a werewolf, is he? He just-”

“- gets a little wolfy sometimes,” Rose said at the same time as Charlie.

Charlie grinned at her, “Exactly Rosie!”

“You’re funny Uncle Charlie,” She giggled.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	5. I'm No Stranger to My Sins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from the song:  
> Skeletons by Eli Young Band.
> 
> WARNING: This is the start of the Charlie x Bill aspect. If you don't like that, get off this train right now cause there are mentions of twincest too and if this chapter is too much for you, then you definitely will not like where the story is going sorry!

“Char, this better not be what I think it is,” Bill whispered as Charlie stood on the veranda of Shell Cottage late at night, “Fleur is asleep in the house-”

“It’s not what you think it is,” Charlie promised.

Bill crossed his arms over his chest, “You usually want something very particular when you show up at this time of night looking as dishevelled as you do right now.”

“That kind of thing hasn’t happened for a long time Bill,” Charlie reminded him, “You’re a married man now.”

“Didn’t stop us after Fred died though did it?” Bill asked in a harsh whisper, “I was a married man then too.”

“And we were both a mess,” Charlie said quietly, unable to meet his brother's eyes, “That was why I took myself back to Romania.”

“And then to Australia,” Bill added.

“And now I’m back,” Charlie said, meeting his brother's eye.

“Now you’re back,” Bill agreed, looking at his younger brother warily.

“I didn’t come back for you Bill,” Charlie promised, “I put that behind me a long time ago. It was unsustainable, not to mention wrong on so many levels.”

Bill relaxed a little, Charlie had always been the more active party, but Bill had never said no either.

“I came back for Mum initially,” Charlie continued, the tense air had now dissipated, “I thought it was the least I could do, she has lost two sons so I thought maybe one ought to come back but…I want to stay for Hermione.”

Bill’s eyes flashed, “Charlie, Ron has _just_ died-”

“I know!” Charlie snapped in a heated whisper, “And I’m not saying I’m going to jump into bed with her for Godric’s sake Bill! It’s not like it was in Romania, there it was one night stands and convenient bed partners but Merlin Bill, I have admired Hermione from afar for a long time. I have been so jealous that my little brother got to her first, and now…now I know how he _treated_ her, I just feel so goddamn angry!”

Bill frowned, “How he treated her?”

“This can’t go beyond us,” Charlie said, “She told me in confidence but I can’t stew on this.”

Bill nodded, “You have my word.”

“He was cheating on her Bill,” Charlie said, venom dripping from his voice, “With some secretary whore half of his age. He was cheating on _her,_ and I cannot fathom why any man would stray when he had that beautiful, intelligent woman in his bed at home.”

Bill made a feral sound, a growl low in his throat. It was a remnant of the attack from Greyback, that and the fact the almost full moon shone above them.

“I would have killed the bastard if I had known.”

“I would have helped you,” Charlie said darkly.

Bill shook his head angrily, “Our baby brother was an idiot. I feel like a hypocrite saying that…Fleur has no idea about what happened between you and me.”

“It wasn’t the same,” Charlie murmured, “You and I…it was just…”

“Different,” Bill said at the same time as Charlie.

Bill sighed and leant back against the exterior wall of the house, “It’s fucking freezing out here,” he said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Charlie.

Charlie took it gratefully, “I thought you were stopping.”

“Fleur thinks I have,” Bill said offhandedly as he lit both cigarettes with a click of his fingers.

Charlie leant against the wall next to his brother and they both took long drags.

“What are you going to do Char?”

“Nothing,” Charlie said honestly, “Help her through this, help out with the kids. I mean man Bill, I love those kids. Hugo is cute and Rosie…she is all Hermione.”

Bill shot his brother a warning look, “Be careful Charlie, you’re getting all domestic.”

Charlie sighed and blew out a ring of smoke, “I know.”

“You know it will never work right?” Bill asked gently, “I know you feel strongly for her, and I can completely understand why. She is beautiful, she is intelligent, magically powerful, strong-willed, I mean why Ron wouldn’t want her, I don’t know,” he took a long drag and breathed out appreciatively, “But she’s also _good_ Charlie, good as gold. You would have to tell her about your…history…and I highly doubt that she would see past that.”

Charlie thought about that for a long moment, “I’m not so sure about that you know Bill.”

“She’s Hermione Granger,” Bill said with an amused look, “Hell, she’s Hermione _Weasley_. She’s your bloody sister in law.”

“Bill, I fucked my brother for years,” Charlie whispered, “You really think _that’s_ the part that concerns me?”

Bill barked out a laugh, despite the sensitive topic of conversation, and Charlie grinned at the reaction he had gotten out of his usually stoic older brother. Despite things that had gone down between them, they were still best friends.

“I told her about my not exclusively-straightness,” Charlie admitted, “Explained about how things worked on dragon reserves and she was fine with it, not a hint of disgust in her eyes. She even said she figured it was probably the norm in pureblood society, but most people of a certain class liked to keep it under wraps anyways. She’s best friends with Daphne Greengrass so I guess that helps.”

Bill snorted, “Daphne Greengrass, whose older brother you fucked senseless for months?”

“Yep, that Daphne Greengrass,” Charlie mused, “But my point is, maybe she isn’t as much of a prude as we think she is.”

“You would know better than me,” Bill said, stubbing out his cigarette, “You’re the one living with her.”

“Not like that, trust me,” Charlie muttered, “I’m on a different fucking floor of the house for a start.”

Bill shot Charlie an amused look, “Char, if you came here for my advice, here it is.”

Charlie stubbed out his cigarette and vanished the evidence away so Bill wouldn’t get caught by his missus. Then he looked up at his older brother.

“Let things settle for a couple of weeks,” Bill said, “The reading of the will was just the other night. Let the paperwork go through, let her come to terms with being _Granger_ again and then, see what the lay of the land is.”

“I can play the long game,” Charlie agreed as he walked towards the gate.

He heard his brother scoff in disbelief, “You’re the least patient person I know Charlie!” Bill said as he stepped back into his house and locked the door behind him.

* * *

“Fancy telling me why you have a collection of quills in your bin?”

Hermione jumped and looked up to the doorway where Daphne was hovering.

“Uh…I’m distracted, I keep breaking them,” Hermione said honestly.

Daphne slipped into the office and shut the door behind her, “Is this distraction work or Charlie related?”

“Charlie,” Hermione admitted, “I found out about him and your brother last night.”

Daphne smirked slightly, “I wondered how quickly you would connect the dots there. Yes, Salvatore, my Fathers bastard son, had quite the hot love affair with your lodger.”

“But he’s not gay,” Hermione said with a frown, “He’s like Susan, personality over gender you know?”

Daphne nodded and leant against the wall, “Uh-huh.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Hermione asked self-consciously.

“Because I’m curious about how you are taking that one,” Daphne said honestly, “It isn’t something we talk about much really, sexual preference and all.”

“I haven’t thought about it much if I’m honest,” Hermione admitted, “I’ve always been interested in guys and I’ve never really thought much more beyond that.”

“But?”

“But I can see the appeal of not being limited by gender,” Hermione conceded.

Daphne smirked.

“What?”

“I think Ron kept you caged you know,” Daphne commented, “I think without him, you might begin to realise that there is far more beneath the surface than a clever little prude.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed which made Daphne grin.

“Suse and I were just heading for coffee,” Daphne said, completely changing the subject, “Do you want to come too?”

Hermione cleared her throat and nodded, “Yeah, I need coffee. Starbucks?”

“My choice today,” Daphne smirked, “Café Nero.”

Hermione grumbled about the quality of the coffee but they left the office in search of Susan regardless.

* * *

“Hermione, hey!”

Hermione grimaced when she saw Harry, “Oh shit Harry, sorry!”

“You forgot about lunch, I know,” Harry chuckled, “But I need to talk to you about a case so it’s all good.”

Hermione smiled and let him into her office. He sat down behind her desk and put his feet up, “So, I need your help prosecuting a guy.”

“Alright,” Hermione said, “You checked that I’m Head Lawyer?”

“I made sure of it,” Harry said with a smirk, “Requested you myself.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Why would you request me over two far more experienced lawyers?”

“Because,” Harry grinned, “This one is _so_ up your street, Hermione.”

Hermione leant back in her chair and surveyed him with interest, “Go on.”

“So,” Harry began, “The perp that you will be prosecuting is called Ivor Vikang.”

“Uh-huh?”

“And you will be attempting to charge him with endangerment of humanity,” Harry finished.

Both of Hermione’s eyebrows shot up, “That isn’t a common charge. I doubt I can prosecute on my own, I’ll have to bring an Assistant Lawyer in.”

“That’s up to you,” Harry said calmly, but he was still smirking.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “What did he do to warrant this charge exactly?”

“He set up an illegal dragon resort,” Harry said.

Hermione’s eyes bulged, “He what?”

Harry nodded, “He found an isolated, uninhabited island in Scotland called St. Kilda and he built a lab. He genetically engineered extinct, rare breeds of dragons and was charging people extortionate prices through the black market to visit the island and see the dragons. He was only caught when a dragon got loose last night and killed 10 people in Inverness. I was out all night with the Obliviators covering it up, and the story hasn’t broken yet but it will soon, in tomorrow’s prophet I expect.”

Hermione was stunned into silence for a moment, “He used the science from _Jurassic Park_ to bring back rare dragons.”

“Yeah,” Harry said simply, “Exactly that. So the charges against his name are endangerment of humanity and mass manslaughter.”

“What happened to the dragon?”

“DRCMC brought it down and imprisoned it in the early hours of the morning,” Harry replied.

Hermione cursed, “They can’t kill it! For the love of God, it could be the only one of its kind in Britain, Charlie has to study it!” she was on her feet in seconds.

“So you’ll take the case on?” Harry called.

“Yes, just brief Susan, I want her as my Assistant Head on this one,” Hermione said from the doorway, “And I’m calling Charlie in on this one too!”

“Thought you might!” Harry’s voice called from her office.

* * *

Everyone stopped in their tracks when Hermione blew into the DRCMC. She stormed through the department to the beast division and walked in, without a knock to the door.

The inhabitants of the office jumped.

“You better not have killed that dragon,” Hermione fumed.

“Hermione, it had just killed 10 people-”

“I don’t care,” Hermione positively steamed, “It wasn’t the dragon's fault! It was the idiot who bred it, hell he didn’t even breed it, he brought it back from extinction. It is the only dragon of its kind left on this earth, it _has_ to be studied while it is alive so if you tell me that you killed that dragon, I swear to the founders that I will hex all three of you into oblivion!”

Two occupants of the office looked towards the man sitting at the heads desk. He was a short chubby man with thin, greying hair and right now, he looked terrified.

“Stubbs,” Hermione practically growled.

“It isn’t dead, but it’s not in a good way either,” Stubbs said quickly, “It took a lot of stunners to bring it down.”

“Where is it?” Hermione asked carefully.

Stubbs looked like he didn’t want to tell her, but he thought better of telling her to butt out. He sighed, “It’s chained down in an isolated paddock we created near Inverness, where we found it.”

“Co-ordinates,” Hermione ground out.

Stubbs gave them willingly and she blew out of the office as fast as she had blown in. When she reached the atrium she floo-ed to the living room of her house, it was empty as she had expected. Hugo and Rose were still at nursery and school, Hermione was going to ask Molly if she could pick them up today while she sorted out this mess.

She checked the kitchen for Charlie but he wasn’t there, so she headed up the carpeted stairs, assuming that he had gone back to bed to catch up on a little bit of sleep. When she reached the corridor leading to his bedroom, she heard soft noises coming from inside which made her stop in her tracks.

She hadn’t laid down any ground rules, but somehow she hadn’t thought that he would bring anyone back to the house either. She knew she should have been at work and the kids were at school and nursery so it wasn’t an issue, but all the same, the thought irritated her.

Hermione walked closer to the door and the noises grew louder. She paused, unsure what to do. She needed Charlie desperately, for all she knew that dragon might already be dead and he was the most qualified person that she knew.

But she didn’t want to barge in either.

A groan from inside the bedroom distracted her, along with a low chuckle and the words, “What happened to the whole, I’m a married man thing?”

That voice belonged to Charlie.

“Don’t come to my house and give me the eyes then.”

Hermione’s eyes could have bulged out of her head as her hand flew to her mouth, there was no mistaking who that voice belonged to. She knew she had to back away before either of them discovered that she had heard them, but she was frozen to the spot.

Until the door opened and she was faced head-on with Bill Weasley.

“Hermione!” Bill said, his eyes widening with real fear, “Uh…how…how long-”

“Long enough,” Hermione said tentatively.

Charlie appeared behind his brother, dressed only in his boxer shorts, “I thought you were at work.”

“I was,” Hermione cleared her throat, “I came back here to get you Charlie so get dressed quickly. There’s a dragon, it’s dying, it might be dead for all I know but it’s rare, the only one of its type in the world.”

Charlie’s eyes widened and he dashed back into his room.

“Hermione, what you heard,” Bill said nervously, “It…”

“I won’t judge you for it, Bill,” Hermione said, her eyes meeting his, “As much as I disagree with you breaking the vows of your marriage, your secret is safe with me.”

“I need you to mean that Hermione,” Bill said heavily, “I have too much to lose.”

“I mean it,” Hermione promised.

Before any more could be said, Charlie slipped past Bill, fully clothed in his leathers.

“She won’t tell anyone,” Charlie assured Bill as he let Hermione drag him down the stairs.

Hermione thrust a piece of paper into Charlie’s hands when they stepped out of the house, “Co-ordinates, I’ll meet you there.”

* * *

When Hermione spun into the paddock, Charlie was already by the dragon's side.

“Stay on that side of the railing!” Charlie warned the minute he saw her, “She’s dying alright, and she’s unstable.”

Hermione bowed her head and nodded, leaning against the railing where a soft, shimmer let her know that a very strong barrier charm separated her from Charlie and the dragon.

“Do you know what breed she is?”

Charlie took a steady breath and placed his hand against the dragons heaving chest, “She’s a Catalonian Fireball and a young one at that. This breed has been extinct since the 1700’s Hermione.”

“Can you save her?” Hermione asked, holding her breath without really realising it.

“I think so,” Charlie said softly. He shut his eyes and spoke to the dragon, “Hush girl, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you like the others did.”

Hermione watched with interest as Charlie placed both hands on the dragon's chest, it huffed a little but didn’t make any move to hurt him. Hermione expected that it couldn’t, it was probably too weak.

Charlie slowly moved his hands up the dragon's chest until it let out a feeble roar. He paused and whispered again, “Shh girl, I can make it better. You just need to trust me, I can make it better.”

The dragon immediately relaxed upon Charlie’s soft, calm voice and touch. It was amazing to watch.

He whispered an incantation slowly, and his hands began to glow yellow, then amber until they were almost golden. Hermione couldn’t look directly at them. The dragon began to writhe and try to escape its bonds, Hermione’s heart was in her throat as she watched, hand over her mouth.

It was obvious when Charlie was done, the dragon gave an almighty roar and broke free from the bonds keeping it in the paddock.

Hermione wanted to cry out, “Charlie!” but she knew that would just alarm the poor creature further so she stayed quiet.

“Woah!” Charlie said, raising both hands as the dragon drew back and opened its mouth, “Now girl, that is no way to thank the man who just restored your fire.”

The dragon hesitated.

Charlie holstered his wand, “I will not hurt you, I promise.”

The dragon remained in the position it was in, ready to strike at any minute.

Charlie backed away, with both hands in the air, until his back was resting against the gate of the paddock.

“Hermione,” Charlie whispered, “When I say now, I need you to open this gate and shut it as fast as humanly possible. Okay?”

“Okay,” Hermione whispered back, her hand poised on the latch.

Charlie pressed himself right back and maintained eye contact with the dragon, “Now.”

Hermione unlatched the gate and Charlie fell back through it, she shut it straight behind him but the dragon had been faster than her.

Charlie groaned and Hermione knelt by his side, “Where did she get you?”

“It’s just a graze to the arm Hermione, nothing to worry about,” Charlie said, through gritted teeth.

“Like hell it is,” Hermione said fiercely, “It’s not a graze, you stubborn ox it’s a third-degree burn.”

Charlie looked down at his arm, “Second at most love, it’s hardly to the bone.”

Hermione glared at him, “You need a hospital.”

“I don’t like hospitals,” Charlie said, looking pale as a sheet.

“Then I’ll just have to do it,” Hermione said irritably, flashing back to the war when Ron had splinched himself and she thought that she was going to lose him.

“Trust you to be just like Ron,” Hermione fumed as she cast a cooling charm on the burned skin, “Of course you don’t like hospitals, you would rather panic me into healing you so you don’t die in the middle of a fucking forest!”

“You’re going to have to explain the story behind that one,” Charlie said with a weak chuckle.

“I will,” Hermione said, grabbing a rock and transfiguring it into a pair of surgical scissors, “When you explain the story about you and Bill.”

Charlie grimaced, “I was wondering when that was going to come up.”

“Yes Charlie, I’m hardly able to ignore the fact that you and your brother were shagging in my spare room,” Hermione said bluntly.

“Well…when you put it that way,” Charlie murmured, throwing his head back and letting out a cry of pain, “You might be right about that being a third-degree burn you know.”

“I know I’m right,” Hermione said calmly, “And this is going to hurt like hell, just so you know.”

“Please tell me you aren’t going to remove the dead skin _before_ casting a numbing charm,” Charlie groaned.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do because I need to see how badly damaged the nerve endings are,” Hermione said, a dark look in her eyes, “Are you sure you don’t want this to be done at a hospital, Charlie?”

“No,” Charlie groaned, “I trust you, Hermione.”

Hermione sighed and put Charlie in a full-body bind so he couldn’t jerk away from her. He shouted out in pain through the charm while she removed the top layer of dead, burnt tissue to assess the wound underneath.

By the time she took him out of the full-body bind, he was panting and sweating heavily.

“Nerve endings are fine,” He ground out.

Hermione cast a numbing charm and Charlie’s breathing began to get a little easier. He felt nothing while Hermione cleaned out the wound, extensively, because this was hardly a sterile environment to be treating him in.

“So you and Bill?” Hermione pushed.

“Me and Bill,” Charlie echoed.

“How long has that been going on for?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Since we were teenagers,” Charlie said, opening his eyes to watch her work, “It probably makes you hate us both, right?”

Hermione shook her head, “The fact Bill cheats on Fleur, that I don’t like. But the concept, as unorthodox as it is, doesn’t make me hate either of you.”

Charlie let out a shaky breath, “It isn’t meant to happen now that Bill has Fleur and the kids. It hadn’t for a long time…not since Freddie died.”

“But it did this morning,” Hermione pointed out, “In my spare bedroom.”

Charlie, even though he was in absolute agony, still had the decency to look sheepish which made Hermione smile.

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“So what changed in the 10 plus years since Fred died?” Hermione asked as she murmured an incantation that began to regrow Charlie’s skin over the burn site.

“Ron died,” Charlie said quietly, “And you told me about how much of an arsehole he had been to you and I unloaded that onto Bill which brought things back to the surface that should have been long buried.”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “You know, if it makes you feel any better Charlie, you aren’t the only Weasley’s who have done it.”

Charlie’s eyes flashed up to meet hers, “What?”

Hermione smiled slightly, ripping some bark from a tree and transfiguring it into a bandage, “While you were off in Romania and Bill was in Egypt, I spent a lot of summers at your family home. In that time, I walked in on Fred and George doing more than making illegal potions.”

Charlie scoffed, “That doesn’t surprise me. They probably wanted you to walk in on them.”

“I got that impression sometimes too,” Hermione admitted with a coy sort of smile as she dipped the bandage in a concoction of water and crushed dittany.

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “Hermione Granger, did you _watch_ them?”

He expected her cheeks to flush, he expected her hands to tremble or for her to scold him but damn, this woman just kept surprising him.

“Once or twice,” Hermione replied simply as she began to wrap the bandage around the pink, shiny, raw burn, “And do you know what? I think they got off on knowing that I was there.”

Charlie stared at her in disbelief, “You are just…an enigma.”

“Take it from a bookworm, Charlie, you should never judge a book by its cover,” Hermione said, smiling slyly at him,

“Why did Ron call you boring?” Charlie asked, baffled by this idea.

“Because in reality, he was the one who kept me that way,” Hermione shrugged, she finished wrapping the bandage and looked at the older Weasley, “Without knowing it at the time, I was in a cage in that relationship.”

Charlie nodded thoughtfully and pushed himself into a sitting position tentatively, “Where exactly did you learn to heal third-degree burns by the way?”

“I’m self-taught,” Hermione said with a shrug, “I had to teach myself after I rode out of Gringotts on the back of a dragon. And that is going to need to be redressed every night before you go to sleep you know?”

“I know,” Charlie said, his eyes scanning hers, “And you might just be the most badass witch I have ever met, you know?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed slightly at that, _at that_ , Charlie thought internally. But not at her admission about Fred and George, by Godric this woman was a mystery that he just had to unravel. How his baby brother had kept her all to himself was astonishing.

“I need to get back to work and you…you need to find someone to give this dragon a home,” Hermione said, changing the subject swiftly.

Charlie nodded, “I’ll talk to my contacts in Romania, but it’s going to take a team of skilled wizards to get this one to sleep and safely over there. She’s going to need specialist care, not to mention extensive studying…”

An idea sparked in Hermione’s head at his words, but she decided not to mention it to Charlie until she had fleshed it out a little.

“Are you going to be okay to apparate?”

“Fine,” Charlie promised, “I have a good healer.”

Hermione smiled, “Get some pain potion in you before you do anything else, okay?”

“Okay,” Charlie promised as he got to his feet, “And Hermione?”

Hermione turned around from her spot by the treeline, “It kind of goes without saying, but you won’t tell anyone about me and Bill?”

“I meant what I said to Bill, your secret is safe with me,” Hermione promised, disappearing with a twist of her heel.

* * *

“Where have you been all morning?” Susan hissed when Hermione walked into her office.

“Saving a rare dragon from death at the hands of the _idiots_ who run the DRCMC,” Hermione said hotly, “Did Harry brief you on the case?”

Susan nodded and sighed, “I thought that was where you had gone but you do realise that you can’t just swan into the DRCMC and demand things, don’t you? Even if you are the best friend of the bloody chosen one! Morton is going to haul your arse up to his office the minute he catches wind of what you did.”

“And when he does, I’ll fight him on it,” Hermione said calmly, “But if Harry briefed you on the case, I assume you understand the severity of the situation?”

“I do,” Susan agreed, “But I was more concerned about justice for the _humans_ who died than I was for the dragon who attacked them.”

“Dragons don’t attack people because they want to, they attack them when they are mistreated,” Hermione said irritably, “That poor creature never knew the love of a Mother which is how creatures become compassionate. It was engineered in a lab by a sick idiot!”

“Who is going to pay, mark my words,” Susan said firmly, “But you have to admit that you didn’t handle things in the best way.”

Hermione knew that Susan was right, although admitting that was a whole lot harder. However, before she got a chance to do just that, the door of the office was whipped open.

Hermione swallowed when a tall, thin, greying man walked in. He fixed his steely eyes on Hermione, “My office, _now_.”

“Yes Mr Morton,” Hermione said curtly.

Susan shot her a look which said, _I told you so_ , and Hermione followed her boss along the corridor. He led her into his office, shut the door behind her and put up a silencing ward so that the whole office couldn’t listen in on their confidential discussion.

“You harassed Mr Stubbs,” Morton said coolly, “You made demands in the DRCMC, to the head of the beast division nonetheless! You have no authority there Hermione, none!”

“I am aware of that sir,” Hermione said honestly, “But they were going to let an incredibly rare dragon die-”

“And that would be their call to make!” Morton snapped, “Not yours! You are a lawyer in the DMLE, you hold a position that many people respect, but that doesn’t give you the right to charge into other departments and make demands! How do you think that makes this department look?”

Hermione swallowed, she didn’t like where this conversation was going, “Sir, I understand that it isn’t good for the department but-”

“No buts!” Morton snapped, “You overstepped Hermione and if it wasn’t for the fact that your husband died last month, you would be out of that fucking door in a second!”

Hermione swallowed and took a step back.

“As it is,” Morton said, calming slightly, “I feel generous.”

“Thank you, sir,” Hermione said quietly, casting her eyes downward.

“I will let you away with a warning,” Morton said, stepping closer to her and grasping her chin in his hand, “Because you are a very promising witch and I do not want to see you throw that away because your temper got the better of you.”

Hermione was forced to look into his eyes where she saw uncapped desire, and that scared her.

Morton saw the fear flash through her eyes so he let go of her chin, “Any further breaches of contract will result in your immediate dismissal, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Hermione said, quieter than ever.

Morton fixed her with a long, searching look then gave her a brisk nod, “Dismissed.”

Hermione wasted no time in escaping from that office. She ignored the curious eyes as she dashed for the safe haven that was her office. Once she was safely sitting down behind her desk, she let herself catch her breath.

It had just gone 3 pm and thus far she had discovered that Charlie was screwing his brother, saved his arm from a third-degree burn and just now, she had been eyed up like a piece of meat by her creepy pervert of a boss.

All in all, it had been a pretty dreadful day.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	6. One Man's Trash is Another Man's Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Another Man's Gold by Dean Brody

“I assume your cryptic request to meet here is about this morning.”

Charlie jumped as Bill stepped into the shrieking shack, “Jeez Bill, you scared the shit out of me, but yeah.”

Bill rubbed his eyes, “I shouldn’t have been so stupid.”

“I hardly discouraged you,” Charlie pointed out.

“What did Hermione have to say about it?” Bill asked, dreading the answer.

“Nothing, she understood,” Charlie answered.

“She understood?” Bill asked in disbelief, “Charlie, I don’t fucking understand it!”

“I know,” Charlie said, swigging from his hipflask and offering it to Bill, “You and me both.”

“How was that girl, that _wonderful_ woman, married to our most idiotic brother for so long?” Bill asked with a shake of his head.

“I honestly have no idea,” Charlie admitted, “She is an enigma Bill, a mystery that I have to get to the bottom of. I…Merlin, I _crave_ her.”

“I have never seen you like this Char,” Bill said, cocking his head at his brother, “Not over a girl, a guy, not over anyone.”

“She just keeps surprising me,” Charlie admitted, “She found out I had slept with guys and girls, and she didn’t blink an eye. She practically walked in on me fucking my goddamn brother and she made a joke out of it, prioritised saving a _dragon_ and then said she understood. She loves dragons, as much as I do, and she is hot as fucking hell Bill. Godric…”

“You love her,” Bill realised with a start.

Charlie didn’t deny it.

“You’re in love with her,” Bill said, surveying his brother.

“Yeah,” Charlie conceded, “Do you know what? I think I am.”

“Fuck me,” Bill said, lighting up a cigarette and offering one to Charlie, “I never thought I would see the day and _Hermione Granger_ of all people Char.”

Charlie lit his cigarette, “I’m fucked, aren’t I Bill?”

Bill barked out a low laugh, “Yeah Charlie, I reckon you are.”

* * *

“Do you still have a job?”

Susan had caught Hermione on her way out of the Ministry that evening, she had no idea how she had managed to avoid her friend for the remainder of the afternoon.

“Yeah,” Hermione sighed, “Just.”

“Do you want a drink? I feel like you need a drink,” Susan commented.

“I need a drink, and Godric, I want a drink,” Hermione admitted, “But who is going to watch my kids exactly?”

“You needing a sitter for a hot night out?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned around, “I need a sitter so I can get rat-arsed and try to forget the fact my boss is a pervy fucking bastard.”

Harry snorted, “Morton? Fuck yes, he is a pervert. I hate that prick, I’ll watch the kids if you want?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “Why are you so eager?”

“Cause Gin is on the graveyard shift at St. Mungo’s so if your kids come to my house, they will entertain _my_ kids and make my Friday night a whole lot easier,” Harry grinned.

Susan snorted, “You always have an ulterior motive Potter.”

“But in this case, your ulterior motive is going to give me a night off so yes, feel free to pick them up from Molly’s and babysit them tonight,” Hermione said brightly.

“They’re at Molly’s? I thought Charlie was watching them,” Harry said as the trio reached the atrium.

“He needed to tie up some things with that dragon I saved, you know the one I nearly got fired for saving?” Hermione remarked sarcastically.

“Yep, I know the one,” Harry chortled, “Have a good night out Hermione, let your hair down, it will do you some good.”

“I will,” Hermione promised, “Thanks, Harry.”

Harry shot a grin over his shoulder and disappeared into the fireplace.

“So,” Susan grinned, “I know a nice quiet place in the underground that does great food, and half-price cocktails up until 8 pm!”

“I am so in,” Hermione said, she hooked her arm through the redhead girls.

“Hey, am I not invited?” Daphne asked as she fell into line with them.

“Of course you are Daph,” Susan replied, “But you normally tell us you have more important things to do when we go for a night out.”

“Well in this instance, I need to get laid and now that Hermione is a single lady, I have _two_ wing ladies,” Daphne remarked, swishing her hair back.

Hermione laughed weakly, “I’m hardly single Daphne, I’m widowed.”

Daphne waved her hand, “There’s still no man in your life, is there?”

For a moment Hermione wondered about Charlie, wondered whether he would ever want to be the man in her life. But she brushed the thought off as quickly as she had considered it, he had his whole thing with Bill going on. Not to mention, she wasn’t sure if he preferred men, women or dragons.

“I suppose not,” Hermione conceded.

“We ought to change,” Daphne said as they stepped out into the cold November air, “We look far too uptight for a night out.”

“The place I’m thinking of is underground in the wizarding sector, so we can sort ourselves out and transfigure our clothes when we get there,” Susan assured Daphne who was, of course, the most fashion-conscious of the three of them.

* * *

When Hermione stumbled through the backdoor that night, she was hoping that Charlie was asleep because she was well aware that she was completely wasted.

Unfortunately for her, he was sitting at the kitchen table studying some sort of egg. He looked up and grinned when she walked in, “A few too many margaritas?”

“Try firewhiskey shooters,” Hermione hiccupped, she sat down heavily, “Is that a dragon egg?”

“A fossilised one, don’t worry, I wouldn’t bring live dragons into your family home,” Charlie said with a cheeky grin, “I found it in Romania, it’s from a rare breed of dragon that has been extinct for several years. I like studying it.”

Hermione hummed and put her head down on the table, “That’s cool. I like dragons.”

Charlie grinned, “I got that impression. Do you maybe think you should go to bed?”

“No, I’m good,” Hermione yawned, “When I used to come home drunk Ron would just take advantage of the situation so it’s kind of nice to just enjoy being drunk, you know?”

Charlie chuckled and patted her on the back, “You know what you’re going to be enjoying tomorrow morning?”

“One hell of a hangover?” Hermione mumbled.

“Yep,” Charlie smirked, “Whose idea was it to do firewhiskey shooters?”

“Susan,” Hermione groaned, “Why is she my best friend again?”

“Because every Gryffindor needs a Hufflepuff best friend,” Charlie chuckled, “Gryffindors are brash and headstrong. Hufflepuffs are loyal and chill, they relax you but stay loyal when you’re a stubborn dickhead to them.”

“Who was your Hufflepuff best friend?” Hermione yawned.

“Dora Tonks,” Charlie mused, “Also thought she was the love of my life, for a little while.”

Hermione looked up in surprise, “You dated Tonks?”

“No, I never dated her,” Charlie replied, “It was like you and Harry, we were best friends, I always wondered if we could be something more but she never returned my feelings.”

“Hardly like me and Harry then,” Hermione muttered, “Since I definitely returned his feelings, multiple times actually, while we were running for our fricking lives.”

Charlie’s eyebrows shot up, “You and Harry? During the war?”

Hermione nodded, “Ron decided living in a tent was too much hard work. Needed Mummy’s home-cooked meals to get by, it was bloody pathetic…so he ran away and left us in the wilderness. It was the middle of winter, I was depressed, Harry danced with me to cheer me up and that was that.”

“So it was before you got together with Ron?” Charlie asked.

“Yeah Charlie, I lost my virginity to Harry freaking Potter, I know that’s what you’re really asking,” Hermione blurted out.

Charlie bit back an amused smile at her bluntness, “Fair play. I always thought you and Harry would be end game.”

Hermione shook her head, “If it was one-sided at all, it was on my behalf. I felt more for him than he did for me. He’s head over heels for your sister, always has been really. Just like I thought Ron was head over heels for me.”

“He should have been,” Charlie said calmly, “He was an idiot Hermione.”

Hermione groaned and sat up on the edge of the table, “Why wasn’t I ever good enough Charlie? I wasn’t good enough for Viktor because I didn’t give him what he wanted but for fuck sake, I was _15_! I wasn’t enough for Harry because I was just his best friend, I wasn’t Ginny Weasley the love of his fucking life and I wasn’t enough for Ron because I wasn’t your goddamn Mother! I didn’t devote my life to my kids and my fucking husband like he seemed to expect a wife to do. It’s the story of my whole bloody life, I have _never_ been enough!”

By the time she had finished, she had tears in her eyes.

Charlie rose to his feet and stood in front of her, “I think you are more than enough, Hermione,” he said, his eyes lingering on hers for longer than they should have done.

Hermione held his gaze too, both of them thinking the same thing; _if we do this, there is no going back_.

Neither of them were quite sure who made the first move. Charlie took a step forward and Hermione pushed herself up to meet his lips. Charlie kissed like he loved, softly and passionately. His rough, calloused hands grasped her hips, pulling her closer to him and she gasped against his lips.

He broke the kiss and caught her eye, “Are you sure you want to do this? Because I have wanted this for _so_ long, I can’t be a one night stand for you.”

Hermione captured his lips once more and murmured, “I don’t do one night stands.” 

That was all the confirmation that Charlie needed, he lifted her onto the breakfast bar and kissed her as if his life depended on it. She gasped against his lips as he ran his hand up her thigh. She threw her head back and his lips found her neck, she felt a sharp bolt like magic was shooting through her entire body. Godric, Ron had never made her feel like this.

“You are perfect,” Charlie murmured against her neck as he slipped her pants to the side, he kissed her neck again and she gasped, “Charlie, I’ve not had sex in months, how long are you planning on dragging this out for?”

Charlie chuckled, the deep, low sound sent shivers down Hermione’s spine, “Sorry love, didn’t realise how desperate you were.”

“You’re not the only one who's fantasised about this for a long time,” Hermione said, her eyes meeting his. They lingered there for a brief moment, then Charlie kissed her again while his fingers pressed into her. Her moans were muted against his lips, but if he aimed to rile her up, he was doing a damn good job of it.

“Oh come on,” Hermione gasped, “Can you please just…”

“Just what, love?” Charlie whispered, gently biting down on her ear.

Hermione could have rolled her eyes, “Could you just fuck me already?” she asked, her eyes meeting his playfully.

“Hermione Granger, begging me,” Charlie grinned as he hoisted her up, “Now that has definitely fulfilled a fantasy for me.”

Hermione groaned and pulled him closer, “You are a tease, do you know that?”

“And you’re hot when you’re mad,” Charlie smirked, and then, in true Charlie Weasley fashion, he slid into her without any warning.

Hermione cried out and let her head drop onto her shoulder. She shuffled and adjusted herself, which in turn made Charlie groan under his breath.

“What are you trying to do to me witch?” He whispered, “If you want this to be over in 5 minutes keep that up.”

Hermione laughed lightly, amazed by how natural this felt. She had always wondered if it would be awkward the first time she slept with someone other than Ron, but Charlie diffused every situation with ease. He drew her out of her brief train of thought by gaining his composure and rocking into her, she was a little embarrassed when a moan escaped her lips without her consent.

But Charlie just chuckled, the hard, cold, breakfast bar pressed into her lower back, and she knew that it would ache in the morning but she found that she didn’t care very much. She held onto him tightly, she shut her eyes and she just let go of everything; of her inhibitions, of her embarrassment and she let the waves of pleasure wash over her, over and over again.

* * *

Waking up before her alarm, with Charlie’s warm, muscular body pressed against her back made Hermione smile widely. She took a deep breath and breathed in his scent, it was earthy, well _of course it was_ , this was Charlie.

He kissed her cheek and murmured, “Morning love.”

The pet name sent a shiver down her spine, Hermione turned around and smiled at him, “Morning,” she said softly.

“Any regrets in the cold, harsh light of day?” Charlie asked, his eyes scanning hers.

“No,” Hermione replied honestly, she grimaced, “Just a hangover.”

“I can cure that with a greasy breakfast,” Charlie grinned.

Hermione made a face, “Ugh, I think I’m gonna throw up!”

She heard Charlie laughing loudly as she ran to the bathroom. Her head was spinning, _Merlin, those two girls are a bad influence on me._

When Hermione stepped out of the bathroom in her dressing gown, Charlie handed her a small vial of potion, “Cures a hangover, great little invention of George’s.”

Hermione knocked it back instantly then sighed with relief, “Oh…I have _got_ to ask George for some of them at the next family dinner.”

Charlie smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, “When do you need to leave for work?”

“In about…” Hermione glanced at the clock behind him, “10 minutes so no, we don’t have time for round two,” she said, shooting him an amused look as she disappeared into her walk-in wardrobe.

“But round one was so good!” Charlie complained.

Hermione laughed and stepped out of the wardrobe fully dressed, “You are charming Charlie, but you are also such a typical man. Could you pick the kids up today?”

“Sure, when you home tonight?” Charlie asked as she headed for the stairs.

“4 pm hopefully,” Hermione called back, “We can discuss _this_ properly when the kids are in bed okay?”

“Okay, have a good day!”

Hermione grinned broadly as she stepped out into the cold, morning air that morning.

* * *

Hermione was aware that she was overly happy that morning, and that if she didn’t tone it down, her two best friends would work out _why._ She managed to lose herself in work eventually and when the door clicked open later in the morning, Hermione didn’t even look up. From the click of the heels, she had a good idea of who it was.

A file was dropped next to her head, it banged loudly on the desk.

Hermione looked up and smiled at Susan, “Good Morning,” she said chirpily.

Susan sat down opposite her and raised an eyebrow, “Good morning. You are in a very good mood this morning. I thought you would be dying from a hangover like usual.”

“George invented a great hangover cure,” Hermione said evasively, “What’s this?” she added, picking up the file.

“Illegal dragon resort case,” Susan said, leaning back in her chair, “After the scene you made yesterday, Morton made me Head Lawyer but I’m keeping you on as Assistant.”

“Right,” Hermione said, staring resolutely at the file.

“You slept with Charlie last night, didn’t you?” Susan asked matter of factly.

“Goddamn it, how did you know?” Hermione asked, looking up at Susan in disbelief.

“I’m your best friend, I can read you like a book,” Susan smirked, “Also, you have a love bite right there.”

“Oh, shit,” Hermione muttered as she pulled the collar of her shirt up.

Susan grinned, “So, how was it?”

“Amazing,” Hermione mumbled, dropping her head into her hands, “The best sex I have ever had in my life…but it was with my dead husbands older brother…oh for the love of Merlin…”

Susan grinned, “You don’t like an easy life, do you?”

Hermione shot her a playful glare, “Do you want to talk about the dragon case?”

“Not really, but I can tell you’re embarrassed so I will indulge you,” Susan chuckled, “So, dragon resort case. I’ll need you on the rest of the paperwork. While I’m gathering the evidence from the Auror department, could you set a date, get the jury together, etc?”

Hermione nodded, “Of course. Can I suggest we bring another lawyer in? We need someone who specialises in legal representation for magical creatures.”

Susan hummed thoughtfully, “Bringing in another lawyer is expensive. I’d have to get Morton to okay it which would mean a strong argument.”

“And he’s never going to go for, ‘the dragons he illegally bred deserve representation’, argument,” Hermione grumbled.

“We could go for a lawyer who is very good, but also believes in creatures rights,” Susan suggested, “Best of both worlds?”

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at her, “Do you know anyone who fits that category apart from me and thanks to my tantrum, I’m not allowed to do it.”

“Yep, you kind of screwed that one up for yourself,” Susan agreed.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “And most of the lawyers in this department are former Slytherins with prejudices. Morton won’t want us to bring an independent lawyer in, budget cuts and all.”

“I’ll have a think,” Susan promised, “We _could_ get a dragonologist in though. I mean you happen to know one, who would do anything _you_ asked him to do. Like for example, represent the dragons in court without payment? That would give your dragons the representation they want, without having to worry about Morton complaining about costs.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re probably still too floored by the incredible sex you had last night,” Susan teased as the door to the office opened.

Daphne floated in and raised an eyebrow, “Who was Hermione having incredible sex with last night?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Good morning Daphne.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Daphne said, narrowing her eyes at the former Gryffindor.

Susan chuckled, “What hot dragonologist is living with her right now?”

Daphne smirked, “You slept with your dead Husband’s brother…maybe there is hope for you in the legal department yet. That has _scandal_ written all over it.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Yes, thank you for reminding me of that. For obvious reasons, keep it quiet?”

“Of course,” Daphne said smoothly, and Hermione completely trusted that she would.

“Anyway,” Hermione continued, “Did you come in here to discuss my sex life or a case?”

“A case,” Daphne said, her eyes sparkling with amusement, “Potter just swanned into my office, who can be arsed with him this early on a Friday morning anyway? And deposited this on my desk.”

She dropped a file in front of Hermione.

Hermione opened it and rolled her eyes, “An internal investigation?”

“Into the Auror department,” Daphne said, casting a wandless silencing ward on the room, “There’s a dirty Auror, maybe more than one.”

“And why are we investigating it?” Susan frowned, “Shouldn’t that be the job of the Hit Wizards or the Head of the Aurors?”

“There is no Head Auror right now,” Hermione pointed out, “Harry turned the job down and they haven’t hired anyone new yet.”

“Even if there was a Head Auror, there’s no guarantee that he could be impartial when it came to investigating his own people,” Daphne added, “So in such a case, the investigation falls to the higher ranking members of the DMLE.”

“In this case, the office of the Wizengamot lawyers,” Susan realised with a nod, “How do they know there’s a dirty Auror?”

“Too many things haven’t been adding up,” Hermione replied, scanning the file, “Far more tip-offs than usual, a couple of ambushes like the one that…” she paused then continued, “…the one that Ron died in.”

“So this file is going to take up the majority of our morning,” Daphne said, transfiguring her and Susan’s chairs into a large, comfortable sofa, “We need to review the personnel file of every single Auror in the department and look for red flags.”

“No wonder they asked the lawyers,” Hermione said, pulling the personnel files from the thick folder, “Looking for red flags is our speciality.”

* * *

When Hermione got home from work that night, it was to find Charlie conversing with Harry in her kitchen. She frowned, “Hey Harry.”

Harry smiled weakly at her, “Hey Mione, you got time for a walk around the block?”

Hermione’s frown deepened, she knew that meant something was up, “Uh sure. Charlie, where are the kids?”

“In their rooms doing homework,” Charlie replied, “They got the night off at Mums last night so Rose said it was very important that they catch up tonight.”

Hermione chuckled, “Do you mind if I nip out with Harry? I know I’ve left them with you all day, I’m sorry.”

Charlie shook his hand, “It’s fine. Do you want to order food tonight?”

“Ugh yes,” Hermione said, “We’ll use that nice pizza place, find out what the kids want and order my usual.”

“Alright,” Charlie smiled, “See you in a bit.”

Hermione smiled back and stepped out of the back door with Harry. She drew her scarf closer to her and looked over at her best friend.

“When did you sleep with Charlie?” He asked quietly.

“What?” Hermione asked sharply, feigning innocence.

“I know you well enough to know your cues Hermione,” Harry said in an undertone, “Hell, I know them myself. Your brighter than I’ve seen you for a while, happier, less tense.”

Hermione sighed and shut the gate behind Harry, “I thought I was hiding it well but Susan knew the second she walked into my office today. It happened last night, I was drunk and it…it happened okay? And I know it shouldn’t have but I’m not sorry that it did because…Ron and I…Harry there was so much going on that you didn’t know about.”

“No,” Harry cut in, “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, what I need to talk to you about. I did know Hermione, I knew about all of it.”

Hermione stopped in her tracks, “You knew that he was cheating on me?”

“I am so sorry,” Harry began, “But I couldn’t tell you, I tried, god I bloody tried! He swore me to an unbreakable vow but I was trying to drop hints, like with the Friday nights he kept disappearing because I knew you needed to know the truth.”

“You took an unbreakable vow to keep his secret?” Hermione seethed, “After all that I did for you? I was _always_ with you Harry, always! I didn’t leave you like he did but he still meant more to you than me!”

“It wasn’t like that Hermione-”

“No,” Hermione snapped, tears pricked at her eyes, “It was always like that Harry! It was always you and Ron against the world and I was just your walking encyclopedia well do you know what? Fuck it, and fuck you!”

“Hermione-”

“And don’t you _dare_ tell Ginny about Charlie and I,” Hermione added, spinning on her heel to look at him, “You owe me that at the very least!” she spat, before stalking back to her home.

She leant against the wall for a moment, gathering herself before stepping into the kitchen. Charlie could tell that something was wrong, but he didn’t say anything in front of the kids.

“Mum, you’re home!”

Hermione smiled and lifted Hugo, “I’m home baby.”

* * *

After she had tucked Hugo in, Hermione stepped into the kitchen and was handed a cup of coffee. She smiled gratefully at Charlie.

“What did Harry have to say?” Charlie asked, his eyes scanning her anxiously.

“Oh just that he is a fucking traitor,” Hermione seethed, “Not only did he know that Ron was cheating on me, but he also took an unbreakable vow to keep it secret.”

Charlie’s frown deepened, “That doesn’t sound like Harry.”

“Well it just goes to show that I was right last night,” Hermione said irritably, “Harry cared about Ron more than he cared about me, I was only ever a side thought.”

Charlie shook his head, “I know he’s your best friend so you know him better than I do, but you are angry right now Hermione and that’s clouding your vision. Think about this logically, does Harry seem like the kind of person who would swear an unbreakable vow to keep someone’s cheating ways a secret?”

“I know, but you can’t be unwilling when you swear an unbreakable vow-”

“Yes, you can,” Charlie interrupted, “I know you are a brilliant witch, but you don’t know _everything._ I think you are getting confused with _an_ unbreakable vow and _the_ unbreakable vow.”

Hermione’s eyes widened when she realised what he was saying, “But…do you think Ron would have used dark magic just to keep his secret?”

Charlie nodded slowly, “Honestly? Yes, I do.”

Hermione frowned deeply, “Charlie…if I tell you about something I’m working on right now, I need you to keep it completely to yourself. The clearance level is like a million times above the basic Ministry worker, let alone you.”

“I swear,” Charlie said sincerely.

“Susan, Daphne and I just got handed a huge internal investigation into a dirty Auror, possibly more than one actually,” Hermione said, letting that thought hang in the air.

Charlie knew exactly what she meant, “Yes,” he said after a moments consideration, “I think Ron could stoop low enough to be a dirty Auror.”

“Why?” Hermione asked irritably, “It makes no sense. Ron fought against the Death Eaters!”

“Dirty Auror doesn’t mean he’s working with the Death Eaters,” Charlie said quietly, “It means he took the law into his own hands and that sounds exactly like the kind of thing he would do. You know his biggest hang-up, he’s the youngest brother, he’s always compared to the rest of us and he hates it.”

Hermione’s frown deepened, “So you think he did it for glory? To get out of Harry’s shadow?”

“To make sure _he_ got that promotion to Head Auror,” Charlie finished.

Hermione sighed, “But it got him killed.”

“Possibly,” Charlie agreed, “If I were you, I would keep very quiet about his possible involvement because that will get you taken off the investigation and you need to stay on that to discover what the hell he was up to.”

Hermione nodded and sipped her coffee, “My life is messed up Charlie. My husband is dead, possibly because he was dirty Auror and I’m sleeping with his very hot, very much older, dragonologist brother.”

Charlie smiled slightly and pulled her closer, “I get that it’s messed up, but the fact you are with me makes me very happy.”

Hermione smiled into his embrace, “Speaking of dragons, do you think you could do me a favour?”

“Anything,” Charlie murmured, placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Will you help me save a bunch of dragons?”

Charlie chuckled and the sound made Hermione’s stomach do flips, “Will I help the incredibly amazing woman who is letting me live in her house save dragons? Hell yes.”

Hermione laughed and stepped back, she pushed herself onto the table and crossed her legs, “Before I elaborate on that one, I think I got you a job. Technically, the term has started but it’s okay, you can start whenever you like.”

“Go on,” Charlie said.

“Well,” Hermione continued, “It’s the job of Gamekeeper at Hogwarts, _but_ it’s not a full-time job per se. You would have rather a lot of spare time, during which you could maybe write?”

“Write?” Charlie asked.

Hermione nodded, “I think there is a very big market for a book, rather like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but focusing on dragons. You have studied so many different species Charlie, hatched so many dragons, you have bred them and stopped them from becoming extinct. Your knowledge is staggering and I think you should share that with the world.”

Charlie’s mind was in overdrive as he processed this, “I have notebook upon notebook full of research…not to mention field drawings, hundreds of them.”

“So,” Hermione said, biting her lip, “What do you say?”

“I love the idea,” Charlie admitted.

Hermione grinned, “I hoped you would say that! McGonagall said you could start as soon as you wanted, Hagrid is leaving to travel and his hut comes with the job.”

Hurt flashed through his eyes, “Right, of course.”

Hermione realised where she had gone wrong, “No, I didn’t mean it like that Charlie,” she said quickly, “I don’t want you out, _far_ from it really. But you can’t stay here forever, it would confuse the kids…more so now that we are together.”

Charlie smiled a little at that.

“This way you could spend the week at Hogwarts and visit at the weekends,” Hermione continued, “And every so often your Mum or Harry could watch the kids and I could visit you.”

“I understand,” Charlie promised, “And honestly Hermione, the idea is inspiring, but that shouldn’t surprise me since you came up with it.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Besides, I’ll see you plenty to prepare you for the favour I need.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “Will you?”

“Yes,” Hermione smirked, “It will require private meetings in my office.”

Charlie grinned, “What’s the job? Can I do it forever?”

Hermione laughed, “When you saved that dragon the other day? Well, it was one of many that were bred in a lab by a sick idiot who was trying to mess with nature.”

“Right,” Charlie said with a nod.

“When he was caught, the dragons were restrained but nobody will claim them which means technically they are Ministry property,” Hermione finished.

Charlie’s eyes flashed, “The Ministry are dickheads to dragons, Hermione.”

“I know,” Hermione said, her hand resting instinctively on his leg, “But the thing is, if we use a lawyer from the DMLE, they are not going to give a shit about the dragons. All they care about is representing the people that the dragon killed.”

“Where are you going with this?” Charlie asked.

“We need someone to represent the dragons,” Hermione said, her eyes finding his, “Someone who loves dragons, someone who can convince a jury that they deserve to be saved. Someone who is insanely clever and could hold his own in a court of law.”

Charlie grinned and closed the gap between them, “Fuck, you’re so hot when you’re in a rant.”

“Charlie,” Hermione moaned against his lips, “You’re distracting me.”

“That’s exactly what I was trying to do love,” Charlie said, pulling her onto his lap to straddle him, “In fact, I would like to distract you all night long.”

“Charlie,” Hermione chuckled, “We need to talk about this.”

Charlie kissed her neck, “What about it?”

“What is it?” Hermione asked, drawing back to look at him.

“I don’t know what it is to you, but I’m all in,” Charlie said, his gaze burning into hers.

“Does that mean there is nobody else?” Hermione asked, her eyes scanning his, “This whole thing with Bill-”

“It’s a loneliness thing, Hermione,” Charlie cut in, “How can I ever be lonely when I have you?”

Hermione smiled slightly.

“And you’re sure it doesn’t bother you?” Charlie asked, scanning her for any sign of disgust, “My…uh…past?”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Hermione promised, her smile widened, “I’m all in.”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna lie, that sex scene is positively vanilla compared to what's coming up in later chapters.


	7. Fighting for Dragons With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is a play on the lyrics:  
> "I had the time of my life, fighting dragons with you" from the Taylor Swift song, "Long Live".

The following morning, Hermione concluded that she would not be able to avoid Harry forever. After all, it was his morning off so he would be dropping Lilly off at nursery. She could always ask Charlie to drop off Hugo, but that would be a cop-out.

Besides, she needed someone to watch Hugo in the afternoon so she was going to have to face Harry sooner rather than later.

He caught her eye when they were getting the kids' shoes changed, but he didn’t say anything. She gave him a small nod, and a look of relief flooded his face.

“Have a good day sweetie, I’ll see you tonight,” Hermione said, kissing Hugo on the forehead before he ran into the nursery class,

Harry fell into step with her, but they didn’t speak until they were in the playground.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione began, “As intelligent as I think I am, I don’t know everything. It took Charlie to make me realise that.”

Harry frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I didn’t realise that there was a difference between _an_ unbreakable vow and _the_ unbreakable vow,” Hermione said in an undertone, “So I apologise for assuming you were a willing party in it.”

“That’s the thing, it was _the_ unbreakable vow,” Harry muttered, “But I wasn’t a willing party.”

Hermione’s frown deepened, “What? But Ron wasn’t powerful enough to use the imperius curse on you, Harry! You resisted it when a dark wizard used it-”

“He didn’t use the imperius curse,” Harry cut in. They crossed the road and slipped into the alleyway. Harry glanced around then murmured, “Muffliato.”

“What did he do then?” Hermione hissed.

“It was so bloody simple,” Harry muttered irritably, “So simple I didn’t see it coming, _compulsion charms_.”

Hermione frowned, “That was clever of him.”

“I know,” Harry said, his eyes met hers, “And I know something is going on, some sort of investigation-”

“Harry, you know I can’t talk to you about that-”

“I know,” Harry interrupted, “But I just wanted to say that if the investigation is into what I think it is, do not assume Ron was an innocent party.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “What do you know?”

“Nothing,” Harry replied honestly, “I just have a hunch.”

“And your hunches are not usually wrong,” Hermione sighed, she nodded, “I had already considered the possibility. Are you working today?”

Harry shook his head, “No, it’s my day off. Why do you ask?”

“Would you mind looking after Hugo in the afternoon for me? Charlie will pick him up then go get Rosie from school,” Hermione explained, “But he has a job interview at noon up at Hogwarts.”

“What position is he going for?” Harry asked curiously.

“Gamekeeper,” Hermione replied, “That way he gets to work with animals, but he can also spend his free time writing his dragon encyclopedia.”

Harry chuckled, “Sounds like Charlie. Look, about you and Charlie-”

“Harry, I don’t have time for a lecture-”

“I’m not giving you one,” Harry promised, “But keep it between the two of you for the moment until everything settles down.”

“I was intending on it,” Hermione promised, “But thank you for the advice,” she added as she spun on her heel.

* * *

On her way into work on Thursday morning, Hermione was yanked into Susan’s office before she could even reach her own.

“Emergency meeting,” Susan said, by way of explanation.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

“There’s coffee,” Daphne said, shoving a cardboard cup into her hands.

“I suppose that makes it bearable,” Hermione conceded, she sat down across from Susan, “So is this emergency meeting about our dragon case or the other thing?”

“The other thing,” Daphne said in an undertone, “We finished red-flagging our files last night, did you?”

Hermione nodded and pulled a thick brown folder from her bag, “I did.”

“I flagged up seven possible dirty Aurors,” Daphne said darkly.

“Muffliato,” Hermione said, shooting the spell at the door, “I only flagged three.”

“But I flagged nine,” Susan said quietly, “That’s a total of 19 Hermione, out of the 50 Aurors who work in that department.”

“Just calm down,” Hermione said logically, “Yes, red-flagging is the best first step but giving someone a red flag does not automatically make them guilty. We were flagging anyone who had a connection to the Death Eaters, who suffered from PTSD during the war or who had a childhood trauma that could cause darkness within to bubble up, yes?”

The other two women nodded.

“So by that logic, I red-flagged Harry,” Hermione continued, “And I very much doubt that he is a dirty Auror _but_ we will need to follow the process anyway. Everyone who was red-flagged needs to be interviewed, then we will have to erase their memories to avoid the real dirty Aurors from cottoning on.”

“Do we have grounds for veritaserum questioning?” Susan thought out loud.

Daphne shook her head, “We don’t have enough evidence of foul play within the department. If we could prove foul play then yes, we could make a good case for veritaserum questioning.”

“So how could we prove that there was foul play?” Hermione asked.

They were silent for a moment, all sipping their coffee and pondering if there was a way to prove such a thing.

“There is a way but I don’t know how easy it will be,” Hermione said, ending to the long silence, “We need to get a dirty Auror on our side, we need someone to testify against the others.”

“You’re right, that’s a crazy idea,” Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at her friend and colleague.

“But it could work,” Susan argued.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Honestly, sometimes I hate working with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.”

“Think about it…” Hermione mused, “We go through those files together this morning, work out which red flags are probably duds and change them to amber or green.”

“Then we get our heads together and work out which of the red-flagged Aurors are weak enough to give themselves up,” Susan added.

Daphne scoffed, “I hate to interrupt your fanciful idea brainstorm, but are you two forgetting what they put Auror Recruits through for three years before they are qualified? They won’t give information up, to _anyone_.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Yes, that’s it, Daphne! You’re right-”

“Thank you-”

Hermione ignored her and continued, “If we can find a likely dirty Auror who got in on merit because they fought in the war, then we can probably crack that person!”

“Because they didn’t go through the training centre,” Daphne realised. Reluctantly, she sighed and said, “That’s a pretty smart idea.”

Hermione smirked, “Let’s get our heads together and narrow things down then. I don’t want to be working on this all day. I have an interview with a dragonologist this afternoon.”

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her, “I _bet_ you do.”

* * *

When Charlie walked into her office at 1 pm, Hermione was feeling pretty good about herself. On her advice, they had narrowed their list of likely dirty Aurors down to 10 and beyond that, there were two that they thought might give up the others.

They had stopped there for the day because the dragon resort case was looming and they couldn’t let that slide because of the internal investigation.

“Hey,” Hermione said, smiling widely at him, “How did the interview go?”

Charlie smiled easily at her, “I start on Monday.”

“Monday?” Hermione asked in surprise, “That’s soon.”

Charlie shrugged and sat down across from her, “Like you said, the term has already started. I get to move into Hagrid’s hut, it comes with the job but I’m going to need to modify it a bit.”

“Yes, it is rather ‘giant’ right now,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

“I think I’m gonna keep the giant door, for effect you know?” Charlie asked. He shot her a grin.

Hermione chuckled, “I’ll miss you being around the house you know.”

“Hey, I’ll spend every weekend there given half a chance,” Charlie said softly, his eyes met hers.

“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” Hermione said, without taking her eyes off of his.

Charlie grinned, “So how are we gonna save a bunch of dragons then love?”

“Well, you are going to speak during the court case,” Hermione said, she cleared her throat, “As our dragon expert.”

“And what do you want me to say?” Charlie asked curiously.

“This is the case I am _hoping_ you will be able to put forward,” Hermione said, sliding a file towards him, “It’s long-winded but the shortened version is; dragons who have been engineered are more dangerous than dragons who have been bred but they can still be tamed.”

Charlie scanned the document and sighed. He leant back in his chair and looked at Hermione, “I wish I could tell you wholeheartedly that I believe in this.”

“But you don’t,” Hermione said quietly.

“Nobody has ever engineered a dragon Hermione,” Charlie explained, “I don’t know how dangerous they are without seeing them. I would need access to this island to study them before I presented any evidence or opinion in court.”

“Charlie,” Hermione said, her tone a warning.

“When is the court case?”

“In two weeks,” Hermione replied, “But going to that island alone is not an option Charlie-”

“Who said anything about going alone?” Charlie asked, he smiled at her, “Or do you forget that I was Head Keeper at the most famous dragon resort in Europe?”

Hermione scanned him for a moment, “I still don’t like it.”

“I know you don’t,” Charlie said honestly, “But if me getting a team of my best people together and heading over to the island for a weekend, saves _all_ of those dragons then it’s worth it, isn’t it?”

Hermione faltered for a second then looked down, “And what if you end up dead, like Ron?”

“Why would I go and die now love?” Charlie asked, forcing her to look up at him, “I’m the happiest I have ever been, I have too much to lose to do something reckless. I swear to you, I will be incredibly careful, _especially_ because we don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”

Hermione eventually nodded, “You’re going this weekend?”

Charlie nodded, “I’ll get in touch with the guys in Romania this afternoon and get a team together. Then we’ll head at first light tomorrow morning.”

“Alright,” Hermione said, she met his eye, “But you’ll stay with me tonight?”

“I promise,” Charlie said, reaching across the desk to kiss her lips lightly.

* * *

“Stop pacing love.”

Hermione sighed and looked over to Charlie, who was sitting at the table, “I can’t lose you too Charlie.”

Charlie opened his mouth to tell her that she wouldn’t, but before he got the chance, a knock sounded on the back door.

Hermione frowned, _who would be knocking at the door at 6 am on a Saturday?_

“It’ll be Bill,” Charlie said, by way of explanation.

Hermione opened the door, and surely enough, it was Bill.

He walked into the kitchen, without waiting for an invitation, and glared at his brother, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Do you find out about _everything_ Bill, seriously?” Charlie asked irritably.

Hermione sighed and handed Bill a cup of coffee, “You aren’t the only one who doesn’t want him to go, Bill.”

“It’s a death wish, Hermione,” Bill said darkly, “Please tell me that this wasn’t your idea.”

“It wasn’t,” Charlie said quietly, “It was entirely my idea. There are a whole bunch of dragons that are going to be executed Bill, _rare_ dragons that no living man has studied. Some of those dragons died out before they could even be documented! How can I let the Ministry kill them before I can learn about them? If I can save them, I have to.”

“Charlie, you idiot,” Bill seethed, “Those dragons were engineered in a lab, they were not reared with love, you have no idea how dangerous they are-”

“Sorry Bill, but _I_ am the dragonologist,” Charlie said sternly, “So _I_ am the expert here. Half of the dragons in the reserve in Romania, _I_ hand-reared because their Mothers abandoned them or tried to kill them. A lack of maternal instinct is the least of my worries.”

Hermione watched the brothers argument with interest and trepidation.

“What is your biggest worry then?” Bill asked irritably, “Because it should be the fact that some of these dragons have been extinct for so long that we know nothing about them, _nothing_ Charlie! We don’t know how they kill, or how dangerous they are and you want to walk onto a bloody island full of them!”

“Look, Bill,” Hermione said, cutting into the argument, “I understand what you are saying, but Charlie knows what he is doing and he is taking a highly skilled team in there. I mean, nobody died in “ _Jurassic Park: Lost World”_ because _they_ knew what they were up against.”

“What?” Charlie and Bill echoed.

“Muggle film,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, “And as much as I hate this idea too Bill, Charlie is an adult and an expert in his field. He would never try to tell you how to deal with goblins so, with all due respect, you should not try to tell him how to deal with dragons.”

Bill took a step back and raised an eyebrow, “When did this get serious?”

Charlie smiled slightly, “I don’t know, I’m not complaining though.”

Hermione’s eyes flitted from Charlie to Bill, “Is that…a problem?”

Bill chuckled lightly and shook his head, he met Charlie’s eye, “No, it’s just nice to see Char happy. Make sure you don’t ruin it by getting turned to ash by a long-extinct dragon okay?”

Charlie smiled genuinely, “I keep trying to tell you people, why the hell would I do that when I have this woman to come back to?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed a little and Bill chuckled, “Is this bit of information on a need to know basis?”

“Definitely,” Hermione said quickly, “Given the circumstances, I think that is best for now. Harry and yourself are the only ones in the know.”

“Go figure,” Bill said, he stepped forward and hugged Charlie tightly, “Stay safe.”

“I will,” Charlie promised, patting Bill on the back.

Bill drew back and kissed Hermione on the cheek, “Try not to worry about him too much. He is the best dragonologist this side of the Atlantic.”

Hermione smiled softly, “I’ll try,” she promised.

Bill swept out as quickly as he had swept in. Hermione pushed herself onto her tiptoes and kissed Charlie, “He cares about you a lot.”

“A lot more than a brother should,” Charlie muttered, “Look, I warned you that it was fucked up.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “Did I say that it was a problem?”

Charlie looked at her for a moment, really looked at her then he kissed her deeply, “I love you, do you know that?”

Hermione’s eyes flashed, “Charlie-”

“And I don’t think I’m going to die,” Charlie continued, “That is not what this is about, but by Godric I _love_ you and I felt like that was the right time to tell you that. Don’t feel obliged to tell me you love me, really, I just had to tell you.”

Hermione smiled and kissed him, “I can’t say it yet, because my head is still a jumbled mess after everything with Ron but I feel things for you…things I have never felt for somebody else.”

“That’s enough for me,” Charlie promised, capturing her lips once more.

* * *

The week that Charlie spent on the island without any communication, passed incredibly slowly. It got so bad that Hermione went into work very early the following Saturday because she was barely getting any sleep.

“Why the long face?”

“Forget my long face, why are _you_ in here on a Saturday morning?” Hermione quipped when she saw Daphne walking along the corridor.

“Because we are working on a few high profile cases right now and I am dedicated to my job,” Daphne replied smoothly, “Is that for me?”

“It was for Susan actually-”

“Perfect,” Daphne said, snatching the coffee from Hermione, “So, your office or mine?”

“Mine, it has a better view,” Hermione replied nonchalantly, “Now, about why you are really here on a Saturday morning-”

“I’m avoiding my sister,” Daphne said, shutting the door and rolling her eyes, “She’s going through a painful divorce right now, and she’s leaning on me.”

“With no idea about the fact you’ve been screwing her husband for the last…five years?”

“Eight,” Daphne shrugged, “Naturally, I don’t want to be in the room with her, him and their lawyer so here I am.”

“Right well…if you’re here, you might as well make yourself useful,” Hermione said, handing her a brown file, “I came in to get a head start on our dragon welfare case.”

“And distract yourself so you don’t think about Charlie fighting all those big scary dragons?” Daphne quipped.

“Yeah, thanks for bringing that up,” Hermione sighed as she put the file down on the desk and sank into her chair, “He told me he loved me before he left. What am I meant to do with that information?”

“He told you he loved you?” Daphne asked in disbelief, she propped her legs up on Hermione’s desk and flipped open the brown file, “You’ve been ‘together’ for what like two weeks?”

Hermione nodded and tapped her quill against her file, “Exactly! I mean I didn’t say it back because it’s soon and my husband just died. I get that I’m supposed to be grieving, but I’m not because he was a terrible husband and I just feel so confused. Then to top it all off Charlie goes to a remote island full of very dangerous dragons and he leaves with an I love you.”

“It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to die,” Daphne pointed out, her eyes cast downwards, “In fact, it would be very unfortunate if he did because his testimony is going to be make or break in this case.”

“I know,” Hermione sighed, “That was why I came in today, to have a second look and see if we have anything else we can use here.”

“There is evidence,” Daphne mused, “But it’s all circumstantial Hermione and you know that. Without Charlie’s testimony about the danger the dragons pose, we’re screwed.”

Hermione sighed and shut the folder, “What about the investigation? Did you and Suse get any further forward with that when you stayed late last night?”

Daphne smirked, “That’s the good news, we did. We have a likely candidate.”

Hermione leaned forward, “Someone you reckon that we can crack?”

Daphne nodded, “Uh-huh. We crack this person, it’s the key to unravelling the entire operation.”

“What’s the catch?” Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes at the blonde woman.

“Well,” Daphne said slowly, “It requires us having an Auror on our side.”

“An Auror we can trust,” Hermione corrected.

“An Auror who isn’t afraid to bend the rules to uncover the truth,” Daphne finished. She leant back and surveyed Hermione.

Hermione sighed, “Harry.”

Daphne nodded, “Do you think he’s capable of it? It involves torturing one of his own for information.”

“I doubt Harry would class a dirty Auror as ‘one of his own’,” Hermione admitted, “And it wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to torture someone. I think we can count him in, but the real question is this…who do we think the weak link in the chain is?”

“Finnegan.”

“Seamus?” Hermione asked in alarm, “No…that will never work. He’s too loyal, he would never give Ron up.”

“Ron?” Daphne asked sharply, “What does he have to do with it?”

Hermione paled as she realised her mistake, “Uh…well…”

“You think he was a dirty Auror,” Daphne realised.

Hermione sighed and nodded, “I suspect it, yes. Harry and Charlie don’t think it’s completely out-with the realms of possibility either.”

“I hate to diss the dead, but I think you might be onto something there,” Daphne said, a faraway look in her eyes, “And you’re right, if Ron was involved then Finnegan is a bad bet, he won’t give him up.”

“But a former Slytherin might,” Hermione realised as she grabbed for the folder, “A spurned one at that.”

“What are you talking about?” Daphne asked blankly.

“Millicent Bulstrode,” Hermione said, she flicked through the file, “She had a crush on Ron at school and he was horrible to her and I’m sure that….yes! Mavis Bulstrode, she’s one of the flagged Aurors!”

“Millie’s big sister,” Daphne realised with a nod, “Yes…you are a genius, Hermione! Forget doing paperwork on a Saturday morning, you had better haul your arse over to your best friend’s house and beg for his help.”

“I’ll have to be more tactful than that,” Hermione mused as she got to her feet, “I can’t risk Ginny overhearing. Not all of the Weasley’s feel the same way towards Ron that Charlie does.”

“Well not all of the Weasleys jumped into your bed the minute Ron died,” Daphne pointed out with a smirk.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “We’ll meet up before office hours on Monday, be here at 7 am okay? I’ll make sure to tell Susan too, if Harry is on board I’ll make sure he attends too.”

“Try not to look so nervous Hermione,” Daphne said with a small, supportive smile, “It’s a damn good plan.”

Hermione knew that it was, but she couldn’t help but hark back to the war too, “And every time Harry and I make a plan, it all falls to shit and we end up improvising.”

“You and Harry didn’t have me and Susan during the war though,” Daphne pointed out, and that did sound oddly supportive, “So don’t give up just yet. We’ll crack this one.”

“I hope so,” Hermione said, the tiniest hint of bitterness lacing her voice as she involuntarily wondered about Ron’s involvement.

* * *

It was a risky play, but Hermione planned to corner Harry at the burrow and drag him somewhere she could cast “Muffliato” to run the vague plan by him. She knew the Weasley’s were a curious bunch so she would have to be careful, but she and Harry could have gone to Slytherin as easily as they went to Gryffindor; they could be sneakier than most people realised when the time called for it.

When Hermione stepped into the garden of the Burrow, she was immediately met by Bill who was tossing gnomes into the woods. He smiled at her and asked, “Any word from Charlie?”

Hermione shook her head, “No, you?”

Bill shook his head too, “No, but he did say that he doubted contact would be possible and it has only been a week. No need to worry just yet.”

“Yet being the keyword there,” Hermione sighed.

Bill surveyed her for a moment, “Are you alright Hermione? There’s more going on than just concern for Charlie here, isn’t there?”

“There is, but nothing I can tell you I’m afraid,” Hermione admitted, “It’s work-related and therefore very classified.”

Bill hummed, “I see.”

Hermione forced a smile, “Anyway, where is your wife?”

“In France,” Bill replied, “This whole thing with Charlie resurfacing…It just shone a light on something that I have been avoiding for a long-time. Fleur and I don’t work. I knew that and I think Fleur did too, otherwise, she wouldn’t have signed the papers straight away and disappeared back to France to come to terms with it. She’ll be back for Christmas…but it will be the last one we spend together as a family I think.”

Hermione sighed, “I’m sorry Bill, that can’t be easy. Are you going to break it to Victoire and Dom at Christmas?”

Bill nodded, “That’s the plan. The thing is Hermione, once Dom left for Hogwarts and it was just me and Fleur in the house…we realised we were just going through the motions for the girls. There was no love left anymore.”

Hermione smiled sadly, “I can understand that Bill. Ron and I…we weren’t in a great place before he died, I’m sure Charlie filled you in.”

“He did,” Bill admitted, “And from everything he told me, it was clear that Ron was a delusional idiot.”

“We shouldn’t speak ill of the dead Bill,” Hermione reminded him.

Bill shrugged, “You’re right, we shouldn’t. But when the dead in question was a delusional idiot who treated you the way he did, I’m sure Death can make an exception.”

Hermione almost cracked a smile, “So you being divorced…I guess that’s going to have an impact on Charlie and me? Charlie said your…thing…was related to loneliness.”

Bill shrugged, “Hey, as long as Charlie’s happy then I’m happy. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me.”

Hermione could tell from the strained tone of his voice and the false smile that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. All the same, it wasn’t the time or the place to discuss it in more detail, “I better head inside and help your Mum out, if you hear anything from Charlie, let me know?”

“Of course,” Bill replied as he threw the last gnome over the fence.

Hermione walked into the house and greeted Molly with a hug, “Thank you so much for having the kids this morning, I just needed to nip into work to get some files.”

“You work too hard,” Molly said as she released Hermione, “You shouldn’t push yourself so much right now, you still need to recover.”

“I’m recovering just fine,” Hermione said calmly, “Can I help with anything?”

Molly handed her a pile of cutlery and said, “Where’s Charlie?”

“Oh he’s working this weekend,” Hermione said evasively, “He had one last thing to wrap up before he starts his new job.”

Molly positively beamed, “Oh Hermione, I did want to thank you ever so much for that. You managed to get him a lovely, stable job at Hogwarts.”

Hermione smiled, “Well, I thought it was a good compromise. He gets to work outside but he can also start writing his book.”

“Char’s writing a book?” Bill asked in surprise as he stepped into the kitchen to wash his hands, “He never told me about that.”

“It’s a work in progress,” Hermione admitted, “But he has journal upon journal of research and field sketches so I’ve been trying to help him come up with a way to incorporate it all into a book, something like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them perhaps.”

“That’s a pretty clever idea,” Ginny said from the doorway of the kitchen, “But you’ll need to be his editor and publisher,” she grinned, “Charlie doesn’t exactly have the get-up and go to write a book.”

Hermione chuckled, “And from what I’ve seen of his fieldwork notes, he doesn’t have the spelling either.”

Molly smiled, “Charlie was always a very bright boy, but spelling was never his strong point. His mind races so fast that in his hurry to get it all on paper, his words get a little jumbled.”

Hermione smiled, she thought that explanation summed up Charlie perfectly. To take the attention away from Charlie, and therefore herself, she asked Ginny how the kids were getting on. The subject turned swiftly onto kids, and stayed that way until Molly began to place wine glasses on the table and asked Bill, “Is Fleur joining us today?”

Bill glanced at Hermione and replied, “No Mum, she’s not feeling too great so she’s gone back to France for a couple of weeks. You know how she always says the air there is fresher.”

Molly nodded, “Oh dear, I am sorry to hear that. Pass my best wishes onto her.”

“I will,” Bill promised, “Are we almost ready to eat? I can retrieve the trouble makers upstairs if you want?”

“That would be very helpful, thank you my darling,” Molly said with a warm smile.

Hermione slunk out after him and caught him on the first-floor landing, “Why are you keeping it a secret from your Mother?”

“Because I haven’t told Charlie yet and I feel like he deserves to find out from me, not Mum,” Bill whispered in reply.

Hermione couldn’t argue with that, “Alright, I’ll go and tell your Dad that dinner is ready.”

With that, they went their separate ways and they did not talk for the remainder of the afternoon. It wasn’t out of maliciousness, they had hardly had a fight, but Hermione had plenty of other people to catch up with and she needed to try and catch Harry alone.

The perfect opportunity came up when they migrated into the living room after their lovely, large meal.

“Oh curses! Arthur, I thought I asked you to gather more firewood last night?”

Arthur paled, “Oh…I forgot Molly, I was working on the bike and it slipped my mind.”

“It’s alright Molly,” Harry said calmly, he got to his feet, “I’ll nip out and grab some more.”

“I’ll go with you,” Hermione said, also getting to her feet, “I could use the walk. I find the air out here in the country clears my head.”

“Thank you my dears,” Molly said gratefully.

Hermione and Harry pulled on their coats and slipped out of the back door. Hermione hooked her arm through Harry’s instinctively but they didn’t talk until they crossed the boundary of the Burrow.

“So, did you really just fancy a walk?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“It has been way too long since I just went out for a walk with my best friend,” Hermione admitted, “But there was more to it than that. I need a favour and…it’s a big one.”

“Go on,” Harry said.

“I’m working on a case like you guessed, and it’s a very difficult one. To get anywhere, I near an Auror on my side,” Hermione said carefully.

“And I’m an Auror,” Harry said with a nod, “What do you want me to do?”

“I need you to do the right thing, even though it might get you fired,” Hermione admitted.

Harry rolled his eyes, “You know me, I’m all for doing the right thing. Usually, it’s _even if it gets me killed_ rather than fired so those stakes are pretty reasonable. What’s going on Mione?”

He didn’t use the childhood nickname very often, so it let Hermione know quite how worried about her he was.

Hermione cast a “Muffliato” bubble around them and replied, “There’s a dirty Auror, in fact, I think there are a few. The only way to get a glimpse into what’s going on is to get one of them to break. I didn’t know how you would feel about it because it involves torturing one of your own.”

“A dirty Auror is hardly one of my own,” Harry said darkly, “Who is it?”

“Mavis Bulstrode.”

Harry snorted, “I’m in, I can’t stand the bitch. I’ll happily torture her to help with your case.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “I don’t think you should be so happy about the idea of illegally torturing a fellow Auror, even if you don’t like her.”

“I wouldn’t be if I didn’t think you were right,” Harry said quietly, “There’s more than one dirty Auror. I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that we need to get to the bottom of it, and if I can help you do that, then I will.”

Hermione sighed in relief, “Thank you, Harry, you are my lifeline right now. I need you to come to a meeting in my office at 7 am tomorrow. It’s out with office hours so we can throw up some wards and discuss this properly.”

“Alright,” Harry agreed.

“And there’s something else,” Hermione said, they had reached the edge of the forest so they began to bundle up firewood into a basket.

“I can’t tell Ginny,” Harry guessed.

Hermione nodded, “I don’t know why, but I think Ron had something to do with this and I don’t think she would cope well with that knowledge.”

“I think he did too, which was why I was planning on keeping it quiet,” Harry said, “Don’t worry, there’s a lot of things about my work that I don’t talk to her about so that’s not a problem. But if Ron was involved and it all comes out…she won’t be happy that I kept it from her.”

“I would hope that she would understand why you did though,” Hermione reasoned as she levitated the basket.

They began to walk back to the house, with the basket hovering behind them.

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “Maybe,” he mused, “But you’re going to have to stop fobbing me off on Greengrass. Ginny is getting this idea in her head that I’m having an affair.”

Hermione snorted, “With Daphne? No offence Harry, but you’re not her type. She’s in love with her sister’s husband, she has been for Godric knows how long.”

“She’s in love with Malfoy?” Harry asked distastefully.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Don’t act like you two still hate each other. You see each other all of the time, you’re basically friends these days.”

“Only because Albus had to go and befriend his son at that stupid Quidditch summer camp,” Harry muttered, “I can’t be seen to be friends with him, can I? It would ruin my reputation as a badass Death Eater killing Auror.”

Hermione snorted again and patted him on the back, “Is that what you think your reputation is? That’s cute.”

Harry shot her a playful glare, “Watch it or I’ll accidentally let slip to Gin that you’re shagging another Weasley.”

“Oh shut up,” Hermione chuckled, “You know Charlie’s a better match for me than Ron ever was.”

Harry nodded, “I did try and tell you that Ron maybe wasn’t the best choice of Husband didn’t I?”

“Yes, and as much as it pains me to say it, you were right,” Hermione admitted grudgingly as she opened the door of the Burrow. Harry followed her in and they both shrugged their coats off.

They walked back into the living room with the firewood. Molly handed them both cups of hot cocoa and began tending to the fire.

“So Hermione, I hear you have an interesting new case about dragons?” Percy asked conversationally.

“She does, her and our brother do love saving dragons,” Bill said, nudging her in the ribs.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “No Bill, your brother is saving the dragons. I just get to do the paperwork.”

Bill chuckled lowly, it had been that way ever since he was attacked by Greyback, “So what’s next then? Save the dragons and move onto house-elves?”

“Maybe Charlie and I will campaign to remove guard dragons from Gringotts,” Hermione said, her eyes flashing playfully as she challenged Bill.

Bill raised an eyebrow, “Will you now? My brother and my sister-in-law against me huh? Is that how it’s going to be?”

“Unless you admit that the goblins treat dragons wrongly, then yes,” Hermione said.

Bill held her gaze for a moment then said, “It is wrong. I never said that it wasn’t, but it is also necessary. I’m all for freeing the dragons, I’m not quite as liberal as you and Char when it comes to house-elves, but I visited Charlie out in Romania at the reserve a few times and seeing those dragons flying free…it did make me feel guilty about the way the dragons in the bank are treated.”

Hermione smiled slightly, she had always hoped that he had held that opinion but it was nice to have it confirmed.

“I think freeing house elves is a risky subject, it’s a whole can of worms you would be opening,” Percy agreed.

Bill shot his younger brother an irritated look as Hermione launched into one of her fervent rants about house-elves.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	8. I Break Down As You Walk Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Stay by Hurts

Hermione had hoped that Charlie would be back sometime the following Sunday because he was due to move into his hut at Hogwarts and start his new job on Monday. However, as it got later and later, she gave up hope of him coming home that night.

With a sigh, she washed out her coffee cup and headed up to bed. She fell asleep after tossing and turning restlessly for at least an hour. But she was rudely awakened sometime around 3 am by a very loud crash from the floor below. She got up, pulled her dressing gown on, grabbed her wand and tiptoed down the stairs, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

When she turned the corner into the kitchen, she sighed in relief when she realised that the intruder was just Charlie. He looked up when the light from her wand blinded him, and he grinned sheepishly, “Broke a mug on my way in, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Hermione said, crossing the room to kiss him. She let her wand drop onto the breakfast bar and entangled her hands in his red curls as she pulled him closer.

Charlie kissed her back, pressing her back into the breakfast bar and flashing her back to that first night. As much as she wanted to take things further, she was well aware of the fact that her children were asleep upstairs.

She broke the kiss reluctantly and said, by way of explanation, “The kids are upstairs.”

“I get it,” Charlie promised, “Sorry I got back so late.”

“It’s fine, I’m just glad you’re back,” Hermione said honestly, “So how was it?”

“It was amazing,” Charlie grinned, he sat down on a barstool, “Godric Hermione, some of the dragons there were the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Dragons I’ve studied in books, dragons I never thought I would have the chance to see. There was a Portuguese Long-Snout, and all we knew about them was what they looked like, which we learned from a skeleton discovered in the 1900s. But they are incredible Hermione, they are tiny but their fire could rival a Hungarian Horntails, and their skin is as strong as the Ukrainian Ironbellys. I think that was why they went extinct.”

“They were hunted for their skin,” Hermione breathed, “Were there other rare species there?”

Charlie nodded eagerly, “There was a Scottish Grey, nobody even knows what they look like because they have been extinct for so long, and it’s incredible. It has feathers as well as scales and-”

“Charlie,” Hermione interrupted, “Why are you bleeding?”

“What?” Charlie asked evasively, “I’m not bleeding.”

“What’s that red stuff staining your t-shirt then?” Hermione said, pointing at his chest, “Tomato ketchup?”

Charlie looked down and cursed, “Fuck, I thought I’d managed to stop that from bleeding yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Hermione asked in disbelief, “Charles Weasley, get that top off right now.”

Charlie smirked, “I love it when you get all demanding.”

Hermione fixed him with a stern look, “Now.”

“Yes miss,” Charlie joked, removing his shirt and throwing it in the rubbish bin.

Hermione winced when she saw the wound on his chest, “It’s infected, you idiot. Lie down on the sofa and don’t move until I get there.”

Charlie knew when to play games with her, and when to just do as he was told, so he disappeared into the living room quietly. Hermione grabbed a small first aid kit with basic potions and ointments and followed him into the living room.

Before she started to work on him, she conjured up a Patronus, “Hey Bill, he’s back safely and mostly soundly. He has managed to get himself clawed at by what looks like some sort of horntail though so once the poison kicks in, he’s going to be delusional as hell. I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on him tomorrow because I have to work.”

With a swish of her wand, her otter Patronus bounded out of the room.

Charlie grimaced sheepishly, “It wasn’t a horntail.”

“Do you know what species it was?” Hermione quipped.

“No,” Charlie admitted, “And it did look a little horntail like but horntails don’t have venomous claws.”

“No, not now,” Hermione agreed, “But before they evolved into the horntail that we now know, they were smaller and to defend themselves, their claws were tipped with venom. It’s not enough to kill a human, not even enough to take down a large animal but it was enough to kill small prey, ensuring that they always had a meal.”

“Fuck,” Charlie muttered under his breath, “I feel kind of stupid for not remembering that, but there’s a bigger part of me that just thinks it’s hot when you talk dragons.”

“You know what’s going to be hot tomorrow?” Hermione asked sarcastically, “Your body when the fever takes hold and you start hallucinating.”

“What kind of venom is this exactly?” Charlie asked as he looked at the wound.

“It’s difficult to pinpoint, but it looks similar to Streeler venom so it’s going to cause the area where the wound is to burn,” Hermione said, “Which is why I’m applying numbing and cooling charms. You’re also going to get feverish very soon, you’re probably going to throw up until you have nothing but bile left in your stomach and then you’re going to hallucinate.”

“Sounds like fun,” Charlie groaned.

Hermione snorted, “Well next time don’t get attacked by a long-extinct dragon species.”

Charlie opened his mouth to say that there wasn’t much chance of that happening, but before he could, the floo activated and the wards shifted. Neither of them had to wonder about who it was, they both knew before he even stepped into the living room that it was Bill.

He looked at the state of his brother and shook his head, “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, Hermione has already told me that,” Charlie said, “And in my defence, I didn’t realise that the claws were tipped with poison. If I had, I would have come home earlier.”

“What kind of poison?” Bill asked Hermione.

“Something similar to Streeler venom,” Hermione replied.

Bill snorted, “Mate, you are in for some insane hallucinations.”

“You two are just rays of sunshine,” Charlie muttered irritably.

“Well two fairly intelligent people both told you not to go to that island, trained dragonologist or not,” Bill remarked sarcastically, “And you chose to ignore us because of your giddiness to run away and play with exciting new dragons, like a kid with a new toy, so you can see why we’re being less than sympathetic.”

Hermione bit her lip but said nothing.

“Really, you two chose now to become all friendly and gang up on me?” Charlie asked in disbelief, “Now, of all times?”

“Well when two people who love you both tell you not to go to a dangerous freaking Jurassic Park island, you should listen to them!” Hermione snapped.

“Well when one of them has tended to treat me like his stupid little brother his whole life, you can’t exactly blame me for not listening to him, can you?” Charlie asked sarcastically.

At this Bill cut in angrily, and Hermione cast a quick silencing charm on the living room, “Don’t choose now to bring up your pointless hang-ups Charlie, I’ve never thought that you were stupid and you know that. This whole situation isn’t a damn joke! You could have died! Don’t you think Hermione has lost enough this year? Don’t you think that we all have? Now is not the time to be making careless, risky decisions. Now is the time to remember that you are 40 years old, unmarried, with no kids and start taking the slow path like the rest of us!”

“I’m with Bill on this one,” Hermione said quietly, “Let this be the end of your love affair with dragons. You’re not as young as you used to be, none of us are. Bill gave up curse breaking for a desk job, do you think he did that because he loves paperwork?”

“No, I did it because I need to be around for my girls,” Bill said calmly, “To see them bring terrified boys home, to walk them down the aisle on their wedding day. And Char, I’m afraid if you don’t stop soon, you never will.”

Hermione hadn’t seen Charlie get angry before, but she felt his magic shift when he lost his temper then, “You chose to settle down and have kids and take a desk job Bill, that doesn’t mean that I have to,” he hissed angrily at his brother, “I was more than happy with the way things were. You visiting me in Romania, me visiting you in Egypt and on the odd occasion when one of us had a girlfriend, bringing them into the fold but you ended all of that when you married Fleur and decided to be a family man. So now you want me to drop everything and do what you say? Well, it’s not going to happen. And Hermione, I’m sorry but you can’t tell me how to live my life. Dragons have been my life for a long time and I’m not convinced I can give that up, not for you, not for anybody.”

“Not for either of us you mean,” Bill said, coldness slipping into his voice, “So what are you going to do? Work with dragons until your reflexes get too shit and one of them kills you?”

“If that’s what it is, then that’s what it is,” Charlie said irritably, “But I’m sick of other people telling me how to live my life. That’s why I went to Romania in the first place, to get away from Mum with her nagging. I didn’t want to get married then and I’m not convinced that I ever will. You two are both the marrying, family sort, so why don’t you try out another Weasley Hermione?”

Hermione tensed up and got to her feet, “Get out of my house,” she said coldly.

Charlie opened his mouth to protest, but she placed her hand on his chest and vanished him in a flash of white light.

“Where did you send him?” Bill asked quietly, “He’s going to be sick tomorrow-”

“I know,” Hermione cut in quietly, “I sent him to St. Mungos. He’ll get the care that he needs there, but I won’t sit by his side and nurse him back to health if he’s going to say awful things like that.”

“Neither will I,” Bill agreed with a sigh.

“Do you want a cup of coffee?” Hermione asked Bill, her eyes flicking to the clock on the wall, there was no use in going back to bed now.

Bill nodded and stepped into Hermione’s kitchen, he filled the kettle and set it on the stove, “Sit down Hermione, you look exhausted.”

“I just feel stupid,” Hermione admitted, “Because I thought Charlie was different from Ron, you know?”

“He is,” Bill assured her, “Most of the time Charlie’s just this carefree, loving spirit but when he fires up like that…he’s just like Ron.”

“Does it take a lot to fire him up?” Hermione asked.

Bill nodded, “Two sugars and milk in your tea?”

Hermione nodded absentmindedly and Bill continued, “No, it happens once every two or three years. Normally when he feels caged, or like he doesn’t have a choice. I think he’s spent so much time around dragons that he acts like them, he lashes out when he feels like he’s being backed into a corner.”

“So what do we do Bill?” Hermione asked.

Bill lifted the kettle before the quiet trill could become a screech that would wake the kids up. He poured the water out into the mugs and sighed as he reached for the milk in the pantry, “Nothing. All we can do is let him stew and he’ll come grovelling back when he’s ready. That could be a while, the last time I fought with him it was a couple of months.”

Hermione scoffed, “Just like Ron,” she muttered with a shake of her head, “If this is how he is, I can see why his relationships have never lasted.”

“His relationships have never lasted because of me,” Bill sighed, he sat down opposite Hermione at the breakfast bar, “Char and I convinced ourselves so many times that things would end when we left school, or when I met Fleur, but they never did and now we’re so entangled in each other…I don’t know how not to be, and I don’t think he does either.”

Hermione hummed thoughtfully, “It certainly makes relationships complicated.”

Bill nodded, “But I think being open about it with you from the beginning was the best thing that Charlie could do. Nobody would blame you for having trust issues after what Ron did to you.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not talk about that,” Hermione admitted, stifling a yawn, “So when are you planning on telling Charlie about your divorce?”

“When things settle down,” Bill admitted, “But I will tell Mum and Dad at the next Sunday dinner, if I haven’t seen Charlie before then, well then that’s his fault. I’d rather that they found out from me rather than through the press when the divorce becomes public in Ministry records.”

“That’s wise,” Hermione agreed with a nod, “Are you going to stay in Shell Cottage?”

“For the moment, yes,” Bill replied, “Fleur’s going to be in France until Christmas. When the girls come home, we’ll celebrate Christmas together and then separate. At that point, I expect Fleur will want the cottage.”

“So what will you do?” Hermione asked curiously, “Go back to your Mums?”

“Godric no,” Bill muttered under his breath, “But I’ll figure something out,” he assured her with a smile, “Anyway, enough about me. How are you guys all adjusting? I know you’re handling things alright, but how are the kids?”

“As well as they can be, considering that their Father died,” Hermione admitted honestly, “Hugo is bouncing back faster than Rose. You know, she’s so intelligent but that’s a curse sometimes. She’s being more reserved than usual, and she likes having Charlie around but he’s not her Dad.”

“I get it,” Bill said, he leant forward on the breakfast bar and caught Hermione’s eye, like the first time Charlie had looked at her so intensely, her heart sank because he, like Charlie, had the same azure eyes as Ron.

Hermione swallowed but didn’t verbalise her thoughts, she could tell that an idea was brewing in his head.

“Have you tried grief counselling? I know that you don’t want it, but it might do Rose the world of good,” Bill suggested, “She’s upset but she doesn’t know how to channel or express that because she’s too young.”

Hermione hadn’t considered the idea, and it was a good one. She tore her eyes away from Bill’s and looked down at her tea for a long moment, “I’ll talk to her about it,” she promised.

Bill smiled easily at her, not a broad grin like Charlie, but an easy crooked smile that distorted the scars on his face. That thought made her frown, she looked out of the window and saw the full moon disappearing behind the clouds.

Bill turned around and followed her gaze, trying to interpret the frown on her face. When he made the connection, he chuckled, “Oh, you’re wondering why I’m so calm, all things considered?”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “Well Bill, considering the fact that you’re a part werewolf and there is a full moon outside, yes.”

Bill chuckled and then said, “I’m still wolfy, trust me,” he grinned and when he bared his teeth, she saw his elongated, sharp canines.

“But Fleur said you got aggressive on the full moon?”

“I can do when I’m feeling volatile,” Bill agreed, “And that was part of the reason why I lashed out at Charlie, but it’s a good thing I’ve been adding a few drops of wolfsbane to my tea every morning this week or I dread to think what I might have done to him…”

“Of course,” Hermione realised, “In its diluted form, wolfsbane would help to calm you. That’s very clever, who gave you that idea?”

“It was one I thought up all by myself,” Bill joked as he finished his coffee and glanced up at the clock, “With Charlie gone, do you need a hand with the kids this morning?”

“Normally, I’d say no,” Hermione replied, “But I do have an early meeting at 7 am about a really important case so I was hoping Charlie would get the kids ready and take them to school.”

“I can do that,” Bill said with a smile, “I don’t start till 9. So Rose will have a strop about her uniform and Hugo will refuse to eat his breakfast then I need to drop Rosie at school and take Hugo into nursery?”

Hermione smiled back, “Yeah, I think you’ve got it covered.”

Bill chuckled, “If I bump into Harry or Ginny in the nursery, I’ll ask them to pick the kids up later and explain that Charlie is taking a time out from being your live-in nanny.”

Hermione snorted at the idea of Charlie being anyone’s live-in nanny, “Thanks Bill, I appreciate it.”

“Hey, it’s the least I can do,” Bill said, “I did kind of make him lose his shit and storm out on you.”

“Us,” Hermione corrected as she placed her empty coffee cup in the sink and headed for the stairs, “He walked out on us.”

And God, that hurt to say. Because she had been convincing herself that Charlie wasn’t Ron but what he had just done to her and Bill was far too similar to what Ron had done to her and Harry during the war.

* * *

When Hermione walked into her office for the early morning, emergency meeting, she was exhausted, and she was also the last one to arrive at the meeting that she had called.

“Sorry,” She said, shutting the door behind her, “I had an awful morning relating to a dragon tamer with a temper.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “Didn’t I warn you-”

“Yeah Harry, I’m not really in the mood to talk about how right and amazing you are,” Hermione said snarkily, “I’m sure you have plenty of fangirls who would do that for you.”

Daphne snorted in amusement, and Harry smiled slightly, “Wow, you really are in a shit mood.”

“What the hell did Charlie do to piss you off so much?” Susan asked, handing Hermione a cardboard coffee cup.

“Nearly got himself killed then got himself vanished from my house because of the things he was saying,” Hermione said matter of factly, “So like I said, I am not in the mood to discuss anything of a personal nature right now. Especially not when we have such a high profile situation at hand.”

Before she said anything else, she cast silencing and protective charms on the room. She then shoved Harry off of her desk and perched against it, “We have a leak in the DMLE, a huge one.”

“Dirty Aurors,” Daphne continued, “Plural.”

“And to get rid of them, we need you, Harry,” Susan finished.

Harry nodded, “Hermione told me the gist of it. You need me to torture Mavis Bulstrode to find out what’s going on. In an ideal world I know that means that we want names, but realistically it might just give us confirmation that this is a ring or a group, rather than one dirty Auror.”

“You’re right, ideally we do want names but equally, we can’t expect miracles,” Hermione said reasonably, “But the main thing is that this stays completely low-key. Nobody in this department apart from us can know about this. What we discuss must stay within these four walls.”

“That one was a given,” Harry said seriously, “Any other ground rules? You guys are heading this investigation after all.”

Hermione nodded, “Someone else goes with you when you question Mavis. I _do_ trust you but otherwise, when this goes to trial the Wizengamot will question why we let you investigate on your own since it is _your_ department that is corrupt.”

“Is that all it is?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Hermione sighed and caught his eye, “No, the other reason is that sometimes you need someone to stop you from getting out of control.”

“Condescending, but fair,” Harry said calmly, “Can I request that it’s you, Hermione? I’m going to have to get very nasty and I would rather that you saw that over these other two ladies. After all, it’s not as if you haven’t seen it before.”

Hermione nodded, “Of course. Any further questions?”

“When do you want to do this?” Harry asked, looking around the three women.

“As soon as possible, I would suggest,” Daphne spoke up.

Susan nodded her agreement.

Harry nodded slowly, “Well I make a habit of knowing the basic routines of my fellow Aurors. Just in case any of them ever turn on me and try to kill me.”

“Paranoid, but useful,” Daphne remarked.

Hermione smiled slightly at that as Harry continued, “So I happen to know that Mavis has Quidditch practice with her local amateur team tonight. It would be a perfect opportunity to lay in wait then ambush her.”

“Harry, has anyone ever told you that you come off real creepy sometimes?” Susan asked, cocking her head at the man.

Hermione chortled under her breath, “It is slightly creepy, but it’s also a good plan. It just relies on me finding childcare at short notice but I might have a solution to that. Let me send a Patronus off and get back to you this afternoon? I’ll confirm it discretely, and if it’s going to be a problem I’ll tell you in a coded message.”

“Deal,” Harry said, he stepped forward and shook her hand, “I look forward to working with the best lawyers the DMLE has to offer.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “You don’t have to suck up to us Potter, you already have the job.”

Harry laughed and ended Hermione’s enchantments with a simple click of his fingers, “Have a nice day ladies,” he said as a parting comment.

Once he was gone, the two women bombarded Hermione.

“So,” Daphne said slowly.

“You and Charlie?” Susan added.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Charlie was stupid enough to get infected with the poison from one of the dragons he was observing on that island. He came back and I summoned Bill, one thing led to another and he got angry which would have been understandable if I’m honest. But what I will not abide is him telling me to ‘try out another Weasley’ because Bill and I are both family people. All because I had the nerve to tell him that he’s 40 years old and still chasing after dragons for an adrenaline buzz?”

Susan whistled and Daphne smirked, “Intense.”

“I don’t have the time for intense,” Hermione said irritably, “Ron was intense. I have two kids, I’m a single mother, and I have a stressful job. I’d just like normal and fun.”

“With crazy hot sex,” Susan added.

Daphne snorted rather inelegantly.

Hermione glared at them both, “Seriously, I vanished Charlie to St. Mungo’s and Bill reckons I won’t see him for a while now because he tends to hold a grudge.”

“And are you okay with that? Because you seemed pretty smitten over him just-”

“I’m fine with it,” Hermione said calmly, “Because I mean it, I do not have time for drama. I don’t do casual, I don’t want someone who isn’t in it for good. If I’m going to fall in love again or marry again, I need it to be endgame this time.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Susan said honestly, realising when it was time to joke and when it was time to be a supportive friend.

Daphne nodded, “Perfectly well-reasoned, just like you,” she said kindly. She even cracked a smile, “But, is now a bad time to ask what our plan is with the dragon case?”

Hermione sighed, “Well I have no idea if Charlie will provide us with his report. My gut tells me that he will because, despite being angry at me, he will want justice for the dragons. I expect him to owl it over at some stage this week. But until we have that, we have no case.”

“That’s not the end of the world though,” Susan said calmly. After all, she was the head lawyer on the dragon case, “Because we got an extension when I told Morton that we had a dragonologist on board who was gathering evidence for us.”

“So the trial isn’t until a week on Friday which means we have plenty of time,” Daphne agreed, “Our other case is the most pressing matter right now.”

Hermione nodded grimly, “Yes, speaking of which; I need to send a Patronus.”

“We’ll reconvene this afternoon for the weekly debrief?” Susan said as she got to her feet.

Hermione nodded, “Don’t worry, I won’t let everything else blindside me. I know we still have mountains of paperwork to get through from last week’s cases.”

“I would never have suggested anything of the sort,” Susan said honestly as she and Daphne slipped out of the office.

When the door shut behind them, Hermione sighed and conjured up her Patronus, “Hi Bill. Sorry to be a pain in the arse, you’re already helping me out enough today but is there any way you can watch the kids tonight? I’m working on something important out of hours so I could be gone for a while and the kids need putting to bed. Sorry, I’m rambling, and I understand if you’re too busy.”

Once the otter flew out of the room, she sat down behind her desk and looked at the mountain of paperwork in front of her. She sighed heavily and pulled the first folder towards her, it was full of court cases from the previous week that she had resided over. She needed to signature each one and file them away depending on whether the conviction was guilty, not guilty or the case had been thrown out due to lack of evidence.

Hermione had just glanced at the first file when a huge silver wolf bounded into her office. She jumped at first, but then the wolf spoke with Bill's voice.

“You’re not being a pain in the arse. This is what family is for, and I understand. I’m working until 5 so I’ll head on over to you straight away and I’ll stick around as long as you need me to. Sound okay?”

Hermione frowned.

“Hermione?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hermione said distractedly, “You know how to do that open Patronus channel thing too?”

She could almost hear the grin in his voice, “Who do you think taught Char everything he knows? Anyway, I better go. The kids will be up soon and from what I know of Rosie, getting her out of the door isn’t going to be easy.”

Hermione smiled slightly sadly as she thought of Charlie, and how he had given her pins and gotten her to school so easily.

“No,” She said quickly, “Thanks again, Bill. I finish at 4 so I’ll make dinner as a thank you.”

“Perfect. See you later Hermione.”

“See you later,” Hermione said as the wolf in front of her disintegrated.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	9. Of Aurors and Lawyers

When Hermione got home that evening, she got to work in the kitchen while Hugo played and Rose did her homework.

She had just put the casserole in the oven when Rose stepped into the kitchen looking nervous.

“Hey baby, do you need help with your homework?”

Rose nodded and sat down at the dining room table, “Sorry if it upsets you Mum but I don’t know what to do about my project.”

“Okay,” Hermione said, she sat down across from her daughter, “Why would it upset me?”

“Because it’s about Dad,” Rose said quietly, she cast her eyes downwards, “I need to complete this exercise about my Dad.”

Hermione frowned as Rose slid a piece of paper across the table. There were slots that she had to fill in like, “ _My Dad’s Name”, “Top 10 Things About my Dad”_ and _“Dear Dad, Thank you for…”_

Rose played with her hair, something she always did when she was upset about something.

“Well honey, I know it will be hard but we can fill this in together,” Hermione said gently, “You know your Dads name so you can fill that part in while I pop the kettle on, okay?”

Rose nodded and began to write her Dads name in her very neat and precise writing. Meanwhile, Hermione put the kettle on and set the timer for the stew. She waved her wand and set the tea set in motion then sat down with Rose once more.

“So what were your favourite things about your Dad?” Hermione asked gently.

Rose frowned, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Hermione repeated.

Rose sighed, “Mum. Dad was never here when we went to school then when he got home from work he was grumpy and tired. He was always busy at the weekends so…I don’t know what things I liked about him.”

Hermione was baffled by that. She opened her mouth, unsure what she could say to make that right. She couldn’t tell her daughter to lie about things in a school paper. She was just thinking that she would need to nip into the school and have a word with the teacher tomorrow when there was a loud rap on the door.

Hermione lifted her hand and clicked her fingers. The simple motions made the door swing open and temporarily lifted the wards so that Bill could step into the house.

“Hey Uncle Bill,” Rose said sadly.

Bill smiled as he took off his coat, “Hey Rosie. Why the glum face?”

“I need to do a project about all the things I liked about my Dad, but I don’t think I liked anything about him,” Rose said with a shrug.

Bill scoffed, “Now, that’s not true, is it? You liked it when he taught you how to ride a broom in Grandma’s orchard, didn’t you?”

Rose’s eyes lit up, “I did like that.”

“You had better write it down then,” Bill said.

Rose immediately began to write and Hermione smiled gratefully at Bill, “Tea?”

“Love one,” Bill replied.

Hermione turned her back on them and busied herself with the tea, but Bill continued, “And you liked how he used to tease your Mum and make everyone laugh, didn’t you?”

“Uh-huh,” Rose said, and she scribbled some more.

Hermione set a cup of tea down in front of Bill and whispered, “Thank you.”

Bill just smiled in return, “How about when he put canary creams out at Uncle Harry’s buffet with Uncle George?”

Rose giggled and nodded. Hermione smiled, feeling like a weight was being lifted. She watched silently, sipping her tea, as Bill helped her complete her homework sheet. When she was done she smiled brightly, “Thanks, Uncle Bill! I’m going to put this back in my school bag.”

“Wash up for dinner while you’re up there,” Hermione called after her daughter.

While Rose’s footsteps echoed up the hall, Hermione’s timer went off. She took the casserole out of the oven and Bill whistled, “Oh man, Charlie wasn’t kidding when he said that you could cook.”

Hermione chuckled, “My Mum was a great cook. I still have all of her old recipes,” she said with a smile, “And thank you so much for helping Rose. When she told me that there was nothing she liked about her Dad I just went blank because….towards the end, there wasn’t much I liked about him either.”

“Me either,” Bill said honestly, “But arsehole or not, he was still my brother and there were lots of things I liked about him.”

“Of course there were,” Hermione said softly, “Could you get the plates out of that cupboard for me and pop them on the table?”

Wordlessly, Bill did as he was asked then proceeded to set the table up with glasses and cutlery while Hermione put the potatoes and vegetables into dishes. When she turned around, she paused in surprise, “Oh…thank you, Bill.”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “For setting the table?”

Hermione nodded and cleared her throat, “Sorry, I know it’s stupid, but it’s one of those things that Ron just never did. Along with almost every other household chore.”

Bill chuckled, “Fleur would never have let me away with that, and for a while, I just kept on her good side so I didn’t have to endure her wrath.”

“But then?”

“But then the monotony of it all just got too much,” Bill said honestly, “Pretending you love someone is exhausting.”

“Yeah,” Hermione said quietly, “I can sympathise on that one.”

They didn’t say any more on the subject, because, at that point, Rose came barrelling into the kitchen with Hugo hot on her heels.

They made small talk throughout dinner. Bill asked the kids about school, Hermione asked Bill about how Victoire and Dominique were getting on at Hogwarts. Once they had eaten, Rose helped wash the dishes then disappeared upstairs to read a book, while Hugo went into the lounge to play with his Holyhead Harpies figurines.

“So,” Bill said under his breath while they shared a cup of coffee in the kitchen, “Your eyes keep flicking to that clock and I can practically smell your anxiety.”

“You can smell it?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Part wolf,” Bill shrugged, “I have a heightened sense of smell. My point is, I don’t like it. What are you doing? Because I get the feeling it’s dangerous and perhaps not legal.”

“Whether or not it’s legal is debatable, it’s a grey area,” Hermione admitted, “But it’s not dangerous, I’ll be with Harry and I trust him with my life.”

“If it involves Harry it’s definitely dangerous,” Bill corrected.

“Either way, I can’t tell you any more than that,” Hermione said, “I know that’s cheeky of me because I’m asking you to watch my kids, but it’s classified.”

“Don’t worry, I understand that,” Bill said honestly, “But I don’t want you to get yourself killed either. Charlie would kill me.”

“I very much doubt that Charlie is worried about my welfare right now,” Hermione pointed out, she poured the last of her coffee down the sink, “But I’ll be fine, trust me.”

“I do,” Bill said smoothly.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be…if it gets late, just crash here. The room at the top of the house where Charlie was sleeping is made up. You know where it is right?” Hermione asked with an amused smirk.

“Very funny,” Bill said sarcastically, although he still cracked a smile, “You know I’m well acquainted with it.”

Hermione chuckled as she pulled on her coat, “Thanks, Bill.”

“Anytime,” Bill promised, “Don’t do anything war-era Hermione Granger-Esque alright?”

“I’ll do my best,” Hermione chuckled before slipping out into the night.

* * *

“You sure you’re ready for this?”

“I’ve seen you torture someone before Harry,” Hermione pointed out in a whisper.

Harry sighed. She couldn’t see him, because it was pitch dark and they were hiding out in the back of a broom shed, but she could sense his unease.

“This is different Hermione,” Harry whispered, “We’re not in the middle of a war. This is what I do for a living, I’m not entirely sure you’ve come to terms with that yet.”

“It was what Ron did for a living too,” Hermione reminded him, “I know exactly what it entails and whether it’s pretty or not, it’s necessary.”

Harry sighed again, “It’s the part of my job I hate the most,” he admitted.

“I know. But how do you know she’s going to come into the shed alone anyway?” Hermione asked nervously, her hand clutching her wand a little too tightly.

“Because she always locks the brooms up, trust me,” Harry said quietly, “It’s all going to go swimmingly.”

Hermione wanted to argue, but at that point, the door to the broom shed opened and surely enough, Mavis Bulstrode stepped in, completely alone.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry said while Hermione called, “Stupefy!”

“See?” Harry said, shutting the door of the shed, “Swimmingly.”

“It’s not over yet,” Hermione pointed out, “We still need to get information out of her.”

“We’ll get to that,” Harry joked, “Put the enchantments up, I’ll tie her up.”

“Charming,” Hermione muttered under her breath, but she began to put all of her protective enchantments up regardless. All the while ignoring Harry’s sarcastic comments about how he felt like he was back in the war all over again.

“Godric, I _hate_ camping,” Harry finished his rant on, clapping his hands together as he surveyed the Auror he had just tied up.

Hermione turned to face him and crossed her arms, “Protective enchantments in place. Now what?”

“Now we wake her up and get her to tell us everything,” Harry said with a slightly concerning gleeful look on his face, “Enervate!”

“Potter!” Mavis hissed, “What the fuck?”

“Sorry Mavis,” Harry said nonchalantly, “But when you’re a dirty Auror, bad things are gonna happen to you. I mean that’s pretty basic common sense, isn’t it? Dirty Aurors don’t live long fruitful lives in safe houses, they tend to end up six feet under.”

“What the hell are you on about Potter?” Mavis asked irritably, “I’m not a bloody dirty Auror!”

“Don’t play dumb with me Mavis,” Harry spat, drawing his wand, “I know you’re a dirty Auror and I know you’re the reason that Ron is dead!”

Mavis snorted, “I’m the reason he’s dead? You have got to be kidding me. Weasley is the reason he’s dead, he got himself killed because of his own stupidity and that of the stupid bint he was carrying on with.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked coolly.

Mavis laughed, “You’re perfectly right, there was a dirty Auror; it was Weasley.”

At this Harry lost his temper, “Crucio!”

Hermione winced as Mavis screamed.

“How dare you suggest that Ron was a dirty Auror?” Harry roared, “He sacrificed so much for this world, for ungrateful people like you! What did you do? Say yes Voldemort, no Voldemort, three fucking bags full Voldemort!”

“No,” Mavis choked out.

“Yes,” Harry said, twisting his hand which made Mavis scream louder, “You are the dirty Auror Mavis, _you_ , not Ron or anyone else but _you_.”

“Yes,” Mavis ground out.

Harry turned down the intensity of the curse, “What was that?”

“I am dirty,” Mavis gasped as she struggled to breathe, “But I’m not the only one.”

Harry ended the curse, “Keep talking.”

“And get myself killed?” Mavis asked in disbelief, “I don’t think so.”

Harry uttered words that Hermione did not understand and Mavis screamed the most ear-splitting scream.

“What the hell did you just do to her?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Reversed all of the bones in her right leg,” Harry replied darkly, “Mavis, keep talking or that’s gonna be both of your legs.”

Mavis glared at Harry with the utmost hatred, “There’s a resurgence group.”

“A Voldemort resurgence group?” Harry asked, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Mavis shook her head, “No,” she gasped, “Grindelwald.”

“Grindelwald?” Harry and Hermione echoed in unison.

Mavis nodded.

“And how big is it?”

“Big,” Mavis replied quietly.

“Does it go beyond the DMLE?” Hermione asked.

“Not yet,” Mavis said quietly, “But he wanted it to, that was what he was working on when he was killed.”

“Who was?” Hermione asked sharply, “Ron?”

“No,” Harry hissed.

“Shut up and hear her out Harry,” Hermione snapped, “Was it Ron, Mavis?”

Mavis smirked and looked Harry dead in the eye, “Oh yeah, it was him alright. Your supposedly perfect best friend has been leading a Grindelwald resurgence underneath your nose for the last year. How does that feel _Potter_?”

“Crucio!”

“No,” Hermione said firmly, “Stop it, Harry! She’s telling the truth and you don’t have the right to torture her for that.”

The hatred in Harry’s eyes was too much, he didn’t listen to Hermione.

“I said _enough_!” Hermione roared.

It was enough. He ended the curse and withdrew a step, breathing heavily.

Hermione glared at him and stepped forward, “Mavis, I’m a senior lawyer in the DMLE and I’m investigating this case. I can help you, I can send you to another country or another continent where you will be safe. I can keep you from testifying in the trial, I swear to you I can keep you safe. But you have to co-operate and tell me everything that you know.”

Mavis nodded weakly.

Hermione knelt in front of the woman, “How did Ron end up leading this thing?”

“Evette started it,” Mavis said.

“Evette,” Hermione said, her heart sank, “His lover?”

Mavis nodded, “He started screwing that stupid fangirl a year ago and she was obsessed with Grindelwald. At the beginning he hated it, but then he started to realise that magic _is_ might and that sometimes the greater good is the most efficient way. He started to think that if he could rule the Ministry with those policies, it would be a fair and equal environment.”

“She radicalised him,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “So how many people are in on this then?”

“Around 50,” Mavis said.

“Are they all Aurors?”

“No, there are all sorts from the DMLE,” Mavis said, she coughed violently, “Even a couple of lawyers,” she said, looking up to smirk at Hermione.

That made Hermione nervous, but it made her blood boil with rage too. Unlike Harry, however, she contained that, “And how did it get him killed exactly?”

“Evette wasn’t happy, she wanted to expand,” Mavis replied, “She wanted them to gain support from people in other departments but it was too risky. She set up a meeting with a couple of Unspeakables, but they deemed him as too big a threat and had their Hit Wizard bodyguard terminate him.”

Hermione swallowed hard, “I see. Thank you for your assistance, I do not break my promises. I’m going to give Harry my memory of this questioning then I’m going to take you to a safe house, get a Healer in to fix you up and we’ll get you out of the country tonight.”

She glanced back at Harry and he nodded stiffly to confirm that she had done the right thing. Both in terms of how she had handled the situation, and in terms of how she had stopped him when he got out of control.

“Alright,” Hermione said softly, “I’m just going to place a full-body numbing charm on you so that you don’t feel any pain when I transport you. Is that okay Mavis?”

She nodded weakly so Hermione cast the spell. She then cancelled all of the enchantments on the broom shed, turned to Harry and said coolly, “I will send for a Healer that I can trust and when Mavis is safe, I’ll bring the required evidence to you.”

Harry just nodded, from the horrified look on his face, she guessed that he was disgusted by the way he had just acted.

“I’ll send you a Patronus when I’m done. Shall we meet at the Hogs Head?”

“Yeah,” Harry said quietly, “Hermione, I-”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Hermione said sharply.

Before Harry could argue, she side-apparated Mavis out of the shed.

* * *

The Healer that Hermione trusted arrived 10 minutes after she had floo-ed her. Hermione had made Mavis comfortable but her injuries were extensive and she didn’t have enough experience to start messing around with something like that.

“Oh my god! Hermione! What happened?”

Hermione shook her head, “I can’t say Hannah, but I need you to help her. She was tortured with the cruciatus curse and has had the bones in one of her legs reversed.”

Hannah looked at the pale, shaking woman, “She’s in shock. Hermione, who did this to her?”

“I’m sorry Hannah, it’s part of a very highly classified investigation,” Hermione said, “But she doesn’t deserve to die, and if she doesn’t get treated soon, I think she might.”

“She will,” Hannah said firmly, “Leave me to work in peace. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

Hermione didn’t argue with her, she just slipped out of the room and let Hannah work. She was in there for an hour, cursing and muttering to herself. Hermione glanced at the time, she felt awful for asking Bill to watch the kids; she hadn’t expected to be out this late.

When Hannah slipped out into the hall, Hermione jumped, “Sorry Hannah, I was thinking.”

Hannah shut the door, “I’ve put her in a medicated sleep. What the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

“I told you, it’s an investigation. It goes beyond top secret, but I promise to fill you in when the truth comes out,” Hermione said sincerely.

Hannah sighed, “Fine, I’m just worried about your involvement.”

“I’ll be fine,” Hermione promised, “I just need to get Mavis out of the country to a safehouse, tonight.”

“You had better use a portkey to transport her,” Hannah said, she leant against the wall and fixed her old school friend with a long look, “Anything else could damage her already fragile condition.”

“Noted,” Hermione said softly, “Hannah, I can’t thank you enough.”

“You’re my friend, I’ll always help you out Hermione,” Hannah said honestly, “I’m just worried about you. You have had such an awful year, what with Ron dying and all and now…you’re acting kind of…erratically.”

Hermione sighed, “Neville told you I’ve been acting weird, didn’t he?”

Hannah nodded, “Yeah, he did. But I mean, he’s not wrong.”

“I’m just embracing life,” Hermione argued, “Your Husband dying is the kind of thing that makes you realise quite how short it can be.”

“I do understand that,” Hannah reasoned, “But this more reckless side of you…it scares me.”

“I appreciate that Han, but I swear to you, I’m a big girl and I can handle myself,” Hermione said gently, “Now, I need to get in there and extract some evidence from Mavis’s head, along with a memory from mine. Then I need to get her out of the country.”

“Alright,” Hannah said, pushing herself off of the wall, “Don’t be a stranger, alright?”

“I won’t be,” Hermione promised.

* * *

By the time Hermione stepped into the Hogs Head, it was pushing midnight. She sighed and sat down at a table in the back, she knew that Harry would be here soon because she had sent him a Patronus 10 minutes earlier.

Surely enough, less than 5 minutes later, Harry stepped into the empty pub and sat down anxiously across from Hermione.

Before Harry had a chance to talk, Hermione pulled out a brown envelope and placed it on the table, “In that envelope, there is a copy of my memory of the questioning, and evidence I extracted using legilimency with Hannah Longbottom as my witness. There is a signed document stating that I did this with the patient's consent, signed by myself and Hannah. That ought to be all we need. Don’t you agree?”

Harry nodded and reached out for the envelope.

“I’ll keep that since my department is in charge of the case,” Hermione said calmly, taking the envelope and slipping it back into her bag.

“Hermione,” Harry said quietly, “Quit it with all of this cold, hard, business talk. You’re angry at me, there’s no point skirting around that.”

“Really?” Hermione asked sarcastically, “You think I might be irritated that you nearly compromised this entire investigation, not to mention both of our careers, just because you couldn’t control your temper? I mean why would _that_ make me angry Harry?”

Harry frowned, “But Hermione, she was accusing Ron of being dirty-”

“Yes, she was,” Hermione cut in sharply, “And do you know what? I find that believable, and so does Charlie.”

“What does Charlie have to do with it?” Harry asked in disbelief, “He jumped into bed with you the second Ron died, I don’t think we can trust his judgement!”

“And what about mine?” Hermione asked coldly, “I was married to Ron, I had children with him. If anyone knows how cold he can be, how bitter, angry and resentful he can be, it’s me Harry!”

Harry sighed, “I know that he could be all of that Hermione, but to be a dirty Auror…to have believed and done the things she said? Can you honestly see Ron as a Grindelwald supporter?”

“I can see Ron doing anything to be out of your shadow Harry,” Hermione replied quietly, “Do you realise that every time you came to the house to celebrate a case you had closed, Ron would spend at least a week complaining about the fact that you had gotten all the glory, every time.”

Harry frowned, “But he never let on…”

“Not to you,” Hermione agreed, “He was torn between being in awe of you and hating you for getting all of the glory, all of the attention, all of the fangirls. So can I believe that Ron fucked the first fangirl that showed any interest in him? Yes, I really can. And can I believe that the same fangirl radicalised him with tales of how Grindelwald had gotten powerful, of how people loved him, followed him, adored him? Like people love, follow and adore you? Yes, I can.”

Harry frowned down at the table, “Look, I see what you’re saying but I’m not going to condemn Ron until I know for sure. I…I just can’t.”

“I understand that,” Hermione said honestly, “But we need to follow this case wherever it takes us, even if that place isn’t somewhere we like and what you did tonight…it wasn’t in line with that.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” Harry said.

“I think it’s poor Mavis you should be apologising to,” Hermione said darkly.

“I know you don’t agree with how harsh I was, but she was a dirty Auror Hermione,” Harry pointed out, “Try to remember that.”

“I am,” Hermione said, she rose to her feet, “But I still think, dirty or not, an Auror deserved more respect than that.”

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Hermione shut him down, “I have to go, it’s after midnight and I asked Bill to watch the kids since Charlie walked out on me this morning.”

“I’m sorry Hermione.”

Hermione just nodded and stepped out of the pub.

* * *

When Hermione stepped into the house, she crept through the darkened kitchen to the lounge where a lamp lit the room. She smiled when she saw Bill sleeping on the sofa, she should have known that he wouldn’t make use of the perfectly good bedroom that she had made up for him upstairs. Maybe it just reminded him too much of Charlie.

Hermione tiptoed across the room and placed a thick blanket over him, after all, it was nearly November and Britain wasn’t exactly renown for being a warm country.

She turned to leave and head to her bed, but something made her stop and turn around when she got to the doorway. She watched Bill for a moment as he slept peacefully, the red scars on his face not aggravated as they often were when he was awake.

“Picture would last longer.”

Hermione jumped and looked Bill in the eye, he had only opened one and he looked a little groggy, but he smiled lopsidedly at her.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought,” Hermione admitted sheepishly.

“What time is it?”

“Half midnight,” Hermione replied, “I am so sorry about how long I was away for. One thing led to another and I didn’t expect to be that late.”

“It’s alright, you don’t need to keep apologising,” Bill chuckled.

The sound made Hermione smile, “I have a perfectly good guest room upstairs you know?”

“I know,” Bill shrugged, “Reminds me of Char though, and I’m trying not to think about that pain in the arse right now.”

“You and me both,” Hermione agreed, she leant in the doorway, “I am sorry about how late I was.”

“S’okay,” Bill promised, “Must have been important.”

“It was,” Hermione said, a deep frown knitting across her forehead.

“You okay?” Bill asked perceptively.

Hermione shook her head and let herself catch Bill’s eye, “No,” she said, her lip quivered and her voice shook a little, “I just watched my best friend torture someone.”

Bill’s eyes softened and he gestured for her to join him on the sofa. Hermione sat down next to him and felt horrifically embarrassed as the tears flowed and she sobbed while telling him a half-arsed version of the story, “There’s this case and there are dirty Aurors and Harry had to torture one but it was awful.”

Bill just listened and held her close, gently stroking her back while she cried and talked. Once she had calmed down a little, he said, “Dirty Aurors huh?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said tearfully, “And…Ron was one, he was kind of the ringleader actually.”

Bill frowned but said nothing, so Hermione continued, “It’s a Grindelwald Resurgence group.”

“Ron was leading a Grindelwald Resurgence group?” Bill asked in a dangerously quiet tone of voice.

Hermione swallowed, assuming his anger was directed at her for buying into the idea so easily. She nodded, “It looks like that, yeah.”

She felt Bill tense up, but she couldn’t see his face. She had never really seen Bill get that angry, so when he began to speak in an icy tone of voice, she was surprised, “How dare he?” He hissed, “That is not what we fought for! That’s not what Fred died for, what Tonks or Remus died for! We fought for a better world, a fair world, a fucking democracy not a Grindelwald-Esque communist state!”

Hermione pulled away from him so she could look up at his face, he was seething with anger.

“I know Bill,” She said calmly, “None of us fought for that. How he could be sucked into it by that stupid girl he was screwing…I don’t know. He was always easily influenced.”

“And weak,” Bill said irritably.

Hermione nodded, “Not like the rest of you. You’re all true Gryffindors; brave, fiercely loyal and protective to those you trust and love, and above all noble. Ron just wasn’t…”

“Ron was worthless,” Bill fumed, “And below you, so goddamn below you. You should never have married him, you deserved better. You deserved someone who could rival your intelligence, who could keep you on your toes and make your life interesting. Not someone who treated you like shit.”

“Someone like Charlie?” Hermione guessed, she figured that was where it was going.

“Or me,” Bill said, his eyes meeting hers.

Hermione was so shocked by the admission that she didn’t even realise that Bill was kissing her for a few seconds until her body began to react to his touch. She gasped and pulled back, “Bill…I know we weren’t exclusive but Charlie and I…and you’re his brother and it’s just…it’s too…I just can’t.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Bill said quickly, “I just got divorced and I’m feeling emotional. I’m so sorry Hermione.”

Hermione just nodded weakly as he grabbed his coat and dashed for the door. She stood in the lounge in disbelief, her lips still tingling as the kitchen door snapped shut loudly.

*** ~ TBC ~ *  
**


	10. Stuck in a Love Triangle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Love Triangle by RaeLynn.

Hermione felt sorry for anyone who needed to talk to a lawyer today. She was in a foul mood, due to being exhausted and emotionally drained from the previous night. When she walked into her office the following morning, the last thing she wanted was to be ambushed by her two fellow lawyers.

“How did it go?” Daphne asked the second the door had closed behind Hermione.

“Let her get her arse in the bloody door first Daphne,” Susan remarked sarcastically.

Hermione glared in their general direction and threw a silencing charm at the door and a ward around the room, “It went fine,” she muttered irritably, “Absolutely bloody perfect!”

Susan narrowed her eyes at her friend, “Hermione…you only ever get this sarcastic when you’re upset.”

Hermione threw her hands up into the air, “Well what do you want me to say? I can understand why Harry wanted me to tag along, instead of one of you two, because he was right, I didn’t like what I saw! It _was_ brutal and it _was_ awful and violent, and Godric I hate him so much right now!”

“But did you get the information that we needed?”

“Yes, I got the bloody information,” Hermione said angrily. She pulled the envelope out of her bag and put it on the table, “After Mavis Bulstrode was tormented and tortured within an inch of her life, she told us everything, funnily enough.”

“And everything being?”

“There is no dirty Auror,” Hermione muttered, “There are lots of dirty Aurors and Ron wasn’t just _one_ of them, Ron was bloody leading them! Ron, the man I married, the man I had children with was leading a goddamn Grindelwald Resurgence group for fuck's sake!”

“Hermione, slow down,” Daphne said calmly. She took a step forward, “If what you say is true, then you must remain objective so get this all out now, with us. But it has to end there.”

Hermione nodded and sank into the seat behind her desk, “I’m sorry, I just don’t know where my head is at right now. I had such a late night last night…”

“Start from the beginning then,” Susan said, forcing a cup of coffee into her hands, “Slowly.”

Hermione took a long breath then said, “When Mavis mentioned that Ron was a dirty Auror, Harry lost it. I’ve not seen him out of control like that since…well, not since the war. I had to step in, I was worried that he would kill her and dirty Auror or not, I don’t think she deserved that. So I got the information out of her and I promised her that I would take her out of the country to a safe house that night. I have my memory of her questioning and a few important memories that I took from her, along with the written consent required. By the time I got her out of the country, it was so late then I had a fight with Harry over the whole thing in the Hogs Head, then-”

“Hermione,” Susan cut in, “Take a breath.”

Hermione did so then continued, “Then I got home and Bill was sleeping on the sofa because he had been watching the kids. I put a blanket over him and I was going to go to bed, but he woke up and we got talking and I burst into tears about the whole Harry thing,” her hands were flailing wildly as she told the story, “And then he kissed me.”

“He kissed you?” The two women echoed.

Hermione nodded and rubbed her brow with two fingers as she felt a tension headache building, “Yeah, he just kissed me. Out of bloody nowhere!”

“Bill, the recently divorced brother of your kind of boyfriend?” Susan said in disbelief.

“No Susan, Bill from my fucking muggle bank. Of course, it was _that_ Bill!”

“Hey, no need to be mean just because you’re all confused!” Susan objected, oblivious to the smirk on Daphne’s face, “What does that mean?”

“It means I hate Weasley’s right now,” Hermione muttered irritably. With a wave of her wand the silencing charm and the ward on the room lifted since that part of the meeting was over.

“Aren’t you quite the catch with the Weasley men?” Daphne quipped, raising an eyebrow at Hermione, “Fred kissed you in high school-”

“- Because it was a dare, and it was humiliating so that doesn’t count for anything,” Hermione grumbled.

“Still,” Daphne smirked, “You married Ron. By your own admission, you had the best sex of your life with Charlie and now you’re kissing Bill.”

“I’m not kissing Bill,” Hermione objected irritably as a knock sounded on the door, “Bill kissed me, I had nothing to do with it.”

Her heart sank when she saw who had just knocked at the door. Charlie stepped in and set a file down on her desk with far more force than was required.

“That’s my dragon testimony for the case. Feel free to read it and owl me with any suggestions before the date of the trial,” Charlie said icily.

“Charlie,” Hermione cut in as he turned around, “Can we please just talk for a moment?”

Charlie turned around in the doorway and said darkly, “Not until I have a little talk with my brother.”

“Charlie!” Hermione tried again, but the door shut with a loud click.

“Oh for fuck's sake,” Hermione exclaimed, kicking the metal bin at her feet irritably, “I’m becoming bloody celibate!”

“Never gonna happen,” Susan said in a sing-song voice while Daphne smirked.

* * *

Before Charlie had a chance to beat the shit out of Bill, his brother came to him. He knocked on the door of his hut and sighed when Charlie answered the door.

“I kissed Hermione.”

“I know,” Charlie said irritably, “I overheard her talking about it at the Ministry this morning.”

“I think I had better come in,” Bill said sheepishly.

“Yeah, I think you should,” Charlie agreed, dragging Bill into the hut and shutting the door with a loud snap behind him.

Bill braced himself, and surely enough, Charlie punched him but not in the place that he was expecting. Normally, Charlie went straight for the face, but this time he punched his brother in the stomach and Bill couldn’t remember the last time he had been winded so badly.

He wheezed like an old man as Charlie fumed, “Now that I’ve stopped you getting a word in edgewise, you fucking dick! You always do this to me, you never just let me be happy Bill. I thought I could marry Dora Tonks, then you had to go and shag her leaving me with ‘trust issues’ according to Darius, the wannabe therapist I worked with in Romania. Then there was Rach from Canada who I met working at the reserve, and you ruined that with your whole let’s have a threesome idea that scared her off. Do you wonder why I prefer shagging blokes? It’s because apart from with me, you don’t do that so I don’t have to worry about you trying to steal them away like you do with every woman I try and have a relationship with!”

“I didn’t take Hermione away from you,” Bill said breathlessly, “You were an arsehole, _you_ pushed her away.”

“So you just jumped in did you?” Charlie fumed, “Just thought you’d fill the Weasley sized gap?”

“What, like you did when Ron died you mean?” Bill asked irritably as he shoved himself off of the wall, “I was upset about Fleur, and I kissed her. I apologised to Hermione straight away and then I came to talk to you because I don’t want our feelings for Hermione to get between us,” Bill said irritably.

“Bit late for that,” Charlie said, grabbing Bill’s arm as he tried to walk away. He shoved his older brother back against the wall that he had just escaped from.

“I don’t think it is,” Bill said, meeting Charlie’s eyes, “Because, despite the fact we’re arguing about her, I still want to jump your fucking bones.”

Charlie made a low sound, something close to a growl of frustration, then that was it. Bill couldn’t help himself anymore, he grabbed Charlie’s neck roughly and pulled him in, claiming his lips in a rough, hard kiss.

Charlie pressed himself against his brother and fought for control of the kiss, he was losing which didn’t normally bother him, but Bill had pissed him off and he wanted to win.

“You won’t win Char,” Bill murmured, sinking his teeth into his brother's neck, “We just had a full moon, the wolf is still strong.”

“We’ll see about that,” Charlie murmured, pinning Bill’s hands and kissing his older brother once more, throwing up a casual privacy charm just in case any nosy students were out of their beds.

* * *

“Told you that you wouldn’t win.”

Bill laughed lowly, “Your anger was stronger than the wolf, go figure.”

Charlie sighed and rolled onto his back, he looked up at the roof of the hut and shut his eyes, “Bill…I hate what I’m going to tell you but it’s…it’s for the best.”

“You’re going to run away to play with dragons and you want me to look after Hermione?” Bill guessed.

Charlie nodded and opened his eyes to look at his brother, “The trial is on Monday so I’m going to go and make sure we get justice for those dragons. But once it’s over, I’m going back to that island with a team of Dragonologist’s. I want to get every dragon off of that island and into a reserve in its natural habitat.”

“You know how dangerous that is Char,” Bill said, giving him a warning look, “You nearly died the last time.”

“I know, but I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t do it,” Charlie said honestly, “Bill, you know me, you know how much I love dragons and this…this is huge. If we can save those dragons, we can try cross-breeding and we might be able to bring back some extinct species.”

“Char, did it ever cross your mind that some things go extinct for a reason? A _good_ reason,” Bill said pointedly.

Charlie snorted, “Coming from the guy who wanted to take a baby Sphinx home from Egypt? Come on Bill, you know where I’m coming from, you just don’t want to admit it because you’re scared that I’ll get hurt if I go.”

“I am scared of that,” Bill agreed, looking over at him, “But I’m not going to stop you from doing something like this. I know that it’s a huge thing for your field of work.”

“Thank you,” Charlie breathed, “And you’ll explain that to Hermione too?”

Bill raised an eyebrow at him, “So you’re going to leave without a proper goodbye?”

“I think Hermione’s fed up of goodbyes,” Charlie said quietly.

“She’s sick of men treating her like an inferior piece of shit when she deserves to be treated like the wonderful woman that she is,” Bill corrected, “And you swanning off without a goodbye is a dick move so if you’re doing this, you’re saying goodbye to her after the trial.”

“Alright,” Charlie agreed grudgingly, “And you’ll drop in on her regularly? Keep an eye on her, make sure she eats and stuff?”

Bill met his brother's eye, “Charlie, I’ll keep an eye on her if that’s what you want me to do. But I can’t promise that nothing will happen. If she kisses me, if these feelings I have for her are returned, I won’t be able to turn a blind eye to that.”

“I understand that,” Charlie said after a long silence, “I know what I might be giving up to go and chase after dragons.”

“Dragons will always come first for you, won’t they?” Bill asked, searching Charlie’s eyes for the answer.

Charlie frowned, unable to meet Bill’s eye. After a moment or two, he sighed and nodded, “Yeah, I think they will.”

Bill nodded, he had already known the answer, even if Charlie hadn’t.

* * *

Hermione was incredibly nervous on Monday morning. She didn’t often get nervous about trials, but in this case, she had really pushed for it and she felt passionate about it, so she had a lot riding on this particular trial.

The fact that Charlie was going to be there only made the fluttering in her stomach worse if she was honest with herself.

“We’ll get him put away Hermione,” Susan said with a smile as she rested a hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “We’ve got plenty of evidence.”

“I know,” Hermione said, taking a steadying breath as the Wizengamot began to file into the courtroom.

They took their seats and Hermione mumbled, “He should be here already.”

“He’ll be here,” Susan said calmly, “He’ll do it for the dragons, you know that.”

Hermione nodded, her eyes fixed on the door. She breathed a small sigh of relief when Charlie walked in, wearing the smartest attire that he owned; a white shirt and black dress robes.

He smiled at Hermione, slightly sadly, as he took his seat at the front of the room.

They didn’t have a chance to talk because the Judge arrived and began the proceedings.

“Wizengamot, we are gathered here today for the trial of Ivor Vikang, who is accused of purposeful and reckless endangerment of humanity. To argue the case against him, I present the right honourable Susan Bones.”

Susan grilled him and the defence fought a good fight. Hermione was only the Assistant Lawyer, so she sat on the sidelines and recorded the proceedings.

When it looked like they were in a dead stale-mate, Susan pulled out their ace and asked Charlie to take to the witness stand.

Charlie walked up calmly and when asked his name and profession by the judge, he responded, “Charles Weasley, Dragonologist.”

Susan smirked and said, “Charlie, thank you for agreeing to talk to us today about the case. You are here as a witness because you went to the island where these creatures were created on a research trip to ascertain whether you would be able to transport them back to their native homelands. Is that correct?”

“That is correct,” Charlie replied calmly.

“And having been to the island, what is your opinion of the creatures? Do you believe they are the harmless, tourist attraction that the accused claims?” Susan asked.

“No, I do not,” Charlie answered, “The dragons that were created on that island vary from dangerous to feral. It will take a team of the most skilled Dragonologist’s in the world to transport all of the creatures back to their own countries. This is partly because the creatures that this man brought back are amongst the deadliest dragons in the world, but it is also because he engineered them.”

Vikang hissed then muttered something incoherent.

“Dragons are only beasts if you treat them as such,” Charlie continued, “A dragon who is reared in captivity without its Mother can be lethal to humans or it can be gentle, and even sympathetic towards them. It all depends on the trainer or Dragonologist who rears that dragon.”

“So you are saying that the fact these creatures were created in captivity makes them all the more dangerous?” Susan asked.

“I am, yes.”

“Thank you for your statement,” Susan said, smiling politely at Charlie.

Charlie nodded. He left the stand and sat back down, smiling hopefully over at Hermione.

Hermione managed a weak smile back, then she turned her attention to Susan.

“I believe the statement you just heard from Charles Weasley further aids our recommendation that the accused should be convicted of purposeful and reckless endangerment to mankind your honour,” Susan said as she looked to the judge, “The offence rests its case.”

The judge bowed his head, “Thank you Miss Bones. We shall now have a ten-minute recess while the Wizengamot makes its decision.”

They gathered outside the courtroom and Susan whispered, “I think we have this one in the bag.”

Hermione nodded and waved Charlie, “I hope so,” she said.

“Was that satisfactory?” Charlie asked when he reached them.

“It was exactly what we needed,” Hermione said gratefully, “Thank you for being our trump card.”

Charlie smiled, “You know I would do anything for dragons.”

Hermione could sense a little tension and awkwardness between them, but she wasn’t sure how she could break it.

Susan felt it too so she cleared her throat and said, “I’ll just have a little word with Daphne while we’re at a break.”

Hermione laughed nervously as Susan walked away, “Subtle, isn’t she?”

Charlie smiled, but it wasn’t his usual carefree smile, “I’m glad we got a moment alone to talk because I have to tell you something.”

“You’re going back to the island,” Hermione guessed.

“Did Bill tell you?” Charlie asked, meeting her eye.

Hermione shook her head, “I haven’t seen Bill all weekend but I’ve come to know you Charlie and I know you can’t carry on with things while those dragons are stuck on that island.”

“I have to help them,” Charlie said, glad that she understood, “If this guy is convicted, then the care of the dragons will fall to the nearest dragon reserve which is technically Snowdonia. But I’ve already struck a deal with them to create a task force with their best people and my best people to get those dragons off the island and back to their homelands. With any luck, if it goes well, the publicity might well save Snowdonia Dragon Reserve from permanent closure so it can only be a good thing.”

Hermione smiled at him, “And I can’t fault you for wanting to save the dragons now, can I? Even if I will miss you and worry about you while you’re off doing it.”

“I’ll write,” Charlie promised, “So that you know that I’m safe but while I’m away, don’t wait for me alright? We were never really together, it sort of fell apart before we had a chance to get it off the ground.”

Hermione nodded her agreement.

“So just get on with things and if someone else comes along, then do what makes you happy,” Charlie said, with a note of finality.

“I understand what you’re saying Charlie,” Hermione said as she stepped forward and hugged him, “But please, be careful and promise that you will write once a week.”

“I promise,” Charlie said, drawing her closer and closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent.

The moment didn’t last long enough for either of them, because at that point the court was called back into session and they all had to re-enter the courtroom. Charlie and Hermione broke apart reluctantly and followed Susan back inside.

Once everyone was sitting, the judge stood and said, “The Wizengamot has made its decision. We declare the accused, Ivor Vikang, guilty of purposeful and reckless endangerment to humanity, and we impose a life sentence in Azkaban prison upon him for his crimes.”

There was a general sigh of relief at this news. Hermione and Charlie shared a triumphant smile as the courtroom began to empty, she wanted to go to him but subconsciously she knew that she shouldn’t because their little moment during the recess had been his way of saying goodbye.

* * *

“If we won, why aren’t you smiling?”

“Hermione,” Susan said, nudging her colleague.

Hermione looked up, “Sorry Susan, I was in a world of my own. What did you ask me?”

“Daphne asked why you weren’t smiling since we won the case,” Susan said, “I’m guessing it has something to do with that chat you had with Charlie in the recess?”

Hermione nodded, frowning, “He’s going to the island to save the dragons, I mean of course he is you know? He’s Charlie Weasley, he’s always going to pick the dragons.”

“And you can respect that surely, you love magical creatures too,” Susan pointed out.

“I do respect that,” Hermione said honestly, sinking into the seat behind her desk, “But I don’t know if I can be with someone who feels that way. It was why Harry and I would never have worked as a couple. Harry was always going to be the hero, he was always going to run towards danger rather than away from it and after the war, that was the opposite of what I wanted.”

“So you settled for Ron, the safer option,” Daphne remarked, cocking her head to look at Hermione, “The one who was an Auror because he didn’t know what else to do. The one who wanted glory more than an adrenaline rush.”

Hermione simply nodded, “I settled for Ron, that much is true but Harry and I would never have worked. He’s always been head over heels for Ginny for a start. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that Harry was the love of my life who got away or anything like that.”

“No, that was Viktor,” Susan joked.

Hermione snorted, “No, it wasn’t. In all honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a love of my life. At one point, I thought it was Ron, but I was wrong about that.”

“I’ve never had one either, and I’m doing just fine,” Susan assured her friend with a smile.

“And I do have one, but he’s married to my sister and we’ve been sneaking around behind her back for years because if Draco divorces her, he loses his family title and all of his money,” Daphne remarked, “So having a love of your life is completely over-rated.”

At this, both of the other women descended into laughter.

* * *

The first time Hermione saw Bill after that awkward ‘almost’ kiss was at the Burrow. It was Sunday, and she hadn’t seen Charlie since Monday when they had won their case.

It was December now, which meant that Christmas was beginning to creep up on them. It left Hermione with mixed feelings. After all, it was going to be their first Christmas without Ron and she knew that would be hard for the kids in particular. She was thinking about that as she watched the rain come down sideways against the window in the lounge.

“You okay?”

Hermione jumped when the voice invaded her thoughts, but a gentle hand on her shoulder calmed her down.

“Don’t sneak up on me like Bill,” Hermione breathed, turning around to look at him.

“Sorry,” Bill said with an easy smile, “I just wanted to check up on you, what with Char skipping town again.”

“He hardly skipped town, he’s doing something important,” Hermione said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “He’s chasing dragons and adventures like he has always done. It’s who he is Hermione, he doesn’t stay put, he doesn’t do stability.”

“Yeah, I was just starting to figure that out,” Hermione said honestly. She sighed, “I just don’t want him to get himself killed doing it, you know?”

“Oh yeah, I know,” Bill said, sighing too, “I’ve worried about Charlie for pretty much my entire adult life. Do you know how nice it is to finally have someone to share that worry with?”

Hermione laughed, “Well a burden shared is a burden halved, isn’t that what they say?”

“Something like that,” Bill said with a smile.

Hermione smiled too, “I’m sorry that I’ve avoided you all week. I just wasn’t sure how things would be after that…moment.”

“I was being emotional and stupid, consider it forgotten about,” Bill said honestly, “I need to start being careful or I’m going to get myself a reputation as a cradle snatcher.”

Hermione laughed properly at that comment, “I think you might already have that reputation Bill,” she said, “I hate to be the one who breaks that to you.”

“Ah, you’ve broken my heart, but I seem to have cheered you up,” Bill said with another of his easy smiles.

“You have,” Hermione said, smiling warmly at him, “I was just thinking about Ron and Christmas…”

“Ah,” Bill said with a nod, “This will be your first Christmas without Ron.”

“And this will be your last Christmas with Fleur,” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“It’s not going to be a fun one for either of us, let’s admit it,” Bill said with a shrug.

“No, it won’t be,” Hermione agreed, “I think I might take Harry up on his offer and spend Christmas with him, Gin and the kids this year. If you need to come over and get drunk on boxing day while we talk about how terrible our days were though, I would be okay with that.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bill chuckled as he held out his arm to her, “Now come on back into the kitchen, Mum was getting worried about you.”

“Alright,” Hermione said, pasting on her best happy face and letting Bill lead her back into the kitchen where the rest of the family were gathered, chatting loudly around the busy table.

* * *

The following morning, Hermione received her first letter from Charlie.

_“Hey Hermione,_

_I’m on the island (sounds ominous right?). I’ve got a great team behind me which makes me feel pretty confident about this venture. We’re not doing much right now, just setting up a safe camp with all of the essential charms to avoid being eaten or attacked by dragons._

_Our initial scans tell us that there are at least 20, possibly even as many as 30 dragons that need extracting. A difficult extraction would usually take up to a week so I could be here a while._

_Hope you enjoy Christmas when it comes around. I’ve asked Bill to drop in with presents, so I’m sure you’ll see him at some point this week._

_Charlie.”_

Hermione folded the letter up and sipped her tea thoughtfully, wondering if Charlie would ever come back from his bold ‘venture’ or whether the 20 to 30 extremely dangerous dragons would get the better of him.

* * *

Surely enough, a couple of days later, Bill came round with the presents that Charlie had mentioned in his letter.

It was quite late when Hermione heard the knock at the door, the kids were already in their beds.

She crossed the kitchen, peered through the door and smiled when she realised that it was Bill. She unlatched the door and stepped back as he let himself in, “I come bearing gifts,” he said, setting down a burlap sack.

“The presents from Charlie,” Hermione said.

“You got his letter then,” Bill said, smiling over at her, “At least he’s writing to let us know that he’s still alive, eh?”

“Yeah, thanks for the optimism there Bill,” Hermione snorted, “Do you want a cuppa?”

“Oh no, I shouldn’t, it’s late,” Bill said, his eyes flickering towards the half-finished glass of wine on the counter next to a brown file.

“I’ll be up for a while yet,” Hermione said, trying to fight a yawn, “I’m working on a tough case, hence the wine.”

“Well how about I help you finish that bottle, while also maybe helping you crack your tough case?” Bill suggested.

“Feel free to try,” Hermione shrugged, “You know where the wine glasses are.”

Bill opened the cupboard in question and grabbed another glass. He then sat next to her at the breakfast bar and poured himself a glass, while topping hers up, “Run me through this case.”

“Accused is Harold Wilder,” Hermione began, “He allegedly sexually assaulted four women over the last two years but so much of the evidence is circumstantial right now that I’m not convinced the Wizengamot will find him guilty which will put the women who came forward in jeopardy.”

“The women who came forward?” Bill interjected, “Implying that there are more?”

Hermione nodded, “We think so, yes.”

“Bastard,” Bill muttered, “What sick, pathetic bastard would do that to someone?”

“This one,” Hermione sighed, letting her head rest on her hand, “He was abused himself as a child, giving him the perfect profile for it but pulling out a psychologist isn’t going to be enough to convince the Wizengamot to convict him.”

“Can’t you use the memories of the women in question as evidence?” Bill asked.

“We can, but all of the women had been drinking which affects the validity of the memory,” Hermione replied.

“Bugger,” Bill nodded, “Course it does.”

“So there’s nowhere I can go, do you see the issue?” Hermione asked, “He claims it was consensual and that they were just drunk. It’s ‘he said’, ‘she said’ and he’s a high ranking Ministry official.”

“Of course he is,” Bill snorted, “Godric, I hate the Ministry sometimes.”

“You and me both,” Hermione grumbled.

Bill sipped his wine thoughtfully and stared down at the picture of the accused, who did look like a no-good sleazy bastard to be fair.

“How do you know that the memories are no good because the victims were drinking?” Bill asked curiously.

“The Auror who looked into the memories said they had been tainted by something that made them giddy and made their memories fuzzy,” Hermione replied, sipping her wine.

“Something like a love potion, or a lust potion?”

Hermione paused with her wine glass halfway to her mouth, “A love or a lust…Bill! You’re a genius!” she said, setting her wine glass down, “Why didn’t I think of that? If I get an Auror to test the memories again, looking for something more specific, he should be able to tell if they were under the influence of a potion like that at the time, and if they were then the accused couldn’t look any guiltier if he tried!”

Bill smirked and sipped his wine, “See? I’m more than just a pretty face.”

Hermione laughed and scribbled notes in the back of her folder, “You’re welcome to come over here and drink my wine every time I’m struggling if you’re going to come to ground-breaking conclusions like that for me.”

“Oh I’m sure I could take you up on that invitation sometime,” Bill said, smiling warmly at Hermione, “Anytime you need a hand with a case, you can buzz me on the floo you know? It’s a refreshing change from doing paperwork and overseeing Junior Curse Breakers,” he added with a chuckle.

Hermione met his eye and they shared the smallest of moments, but Hermione broke it because she still felt some sense of loyalty towards Charlie, regardless of what he had said. She used her work as an excuse and went back to scribbling in her file.

If Bill was put out by it, he didn’t let on. He just continued to sip his wine and they made small talk for the next half an hour, mostly about work and kids and the sorry state of the Ministry.

* * *

When Susan walked into the offices to turn the lights on the following morning, she was surprised to see one on in Hermione’s office.

She walked to the door which was slightly ajar and knocked once before pushing it open. Hermione was sitting at her desk, pouring through paperwork with a half-drunk cup of coffee in her hand.

“You’re here early,” Susan noted.

Hermione looked up and grinned, “I made a breakthrough on the case that I’ve been at a standstill on for the last week.”

“The Wilder case?” Susan asked hopefully as she stepped into the office.

Hermione nodded, “Bill suggested something last night so I chased it up this morning with the Aurors that had been on night duty, and he was right. We found evidence that the memories were damaged because the victims had been under the influence of a love potion at the time. It’s the one solid piece of evidence I needed to make sure that he gets put away.”

Susan raised an eyebrow at her, “Bill came up with it, did he?”

Hermione shot Susan a look, “Yes Suse, he did.”

“Last night, was it?” Susan continued.

Hermione cracked a smile, “Yes, he came round to drop off Christmas presents that Charlie had bought for the kids and he stayed for a glass of wine while we discussed the case.”

“And after you had discussed the case?” Susan prodded, “Because I wouldn’t judge you if you went there. Charlie left you high and dry, and Bill is _very_ handsome, recently divorced too,” she waggled her eyebrows.

“I didn’t go there,” Hermione assured her, “Bill is lovely, and very handsome you’re right. But he’s also Charlie’s brother and Ron’s brother, so it’s far more complicated than you seem to think.”

“Alright, I’ll back off,” Susan promised with a smile, “Once you answer one more question for me.”

“Go on,” Hermione said cautiously.

“Whose taking the kids to school this morning?” Susan asked, giving Hermione a knowing look.

“Bill,” Hermione admitted, “He stayed in the spare bedroom last night because I asked him if he would be okay with taking the kids to school so that I could come in early.”

“Wow, what a considerate friend and babysitter he is,” Susan said sarcastically as she headed for the door, “There’s no way he could possibly want more than friendship.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Piss off Susan!” she called as she heard the redheads heels click along the hall.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	11. Christmases When You Were Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title is from the song:  
> Christmases When You Were Mine by Taylor Swift.

Hermione saw Bill in passing at the weekend, but it was the last weekend before Christmas so everyone was busy. They were lucky if they spoke two words to each other as Molly got everyone to help to decorate the house and had a rant about how she couldn’t possibly knit sweaters next year if everyone kept having babies.

As Christmas crept up on them that week, Hermione grew more and more nervous. She had already agreed with Harry that she and the kids would spend Christmas morning with them at Grimmauld Place before they all headed to the Burrow together for Christmas dinner. But despite the fact she would be surrounded by people, she knew that she would feel the void that Ron had left. Regardless of how bad things had been in the end, Christmas had always been a happy time for them when they had first started dating and when the kids had been very young.

Hermione was lost in thought as she waded through Diagon Alley, which was bustling due to how close it was to Christmas. She had picked up almost everything that she needed, and her last stop was Flourish and Blotts to get some books for Rose.

She stepped inside and bumped into someone almost immediately.

“Oh, I’m so-”

“Gosh, I’m so-”

“Hermione!”

“Bill!”

They laughed and stepped out of the doorway.

“What brings you here? Apart from your obvious love of books,” Bill chortled.

“Christmas,” Hermione replied, “I’m going to get some basic reference books for Rose. She’s so smart and she’s already started to express an interest.”

“Of course she has, she’s just like you,” Bill said cheerfully, “I was just buying Perce a book about how to be a socially awkward prat,” he said, gesturing to the book in his hand that was titled, _“Losing Friends and Alienating People: A Guide to Succeeding in Politics.”_

Hermione laughed, “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” she remarked sarcastically.

Bill laughed too, “Do you want to grab a coffee once you’ve got Rose’s books? The Muggle place across from the Leaky does peppermint mocha’s at this time of year and I swear, those things are my Achilles heel.”

“They are so good!” Hermione agreed with a chuckle, “But that would be nice if you can handle waiting while I hunt out some good books on basic magical theory?”

“Oh I can help you,” Bill said eagerly, “Vic had no interest in learning about magic until she went to Hogwarts but Dom wanted to know as much as she could. The first book I got her was aimed at kids around Rose’s age…it’s in the childhood reference section just here,” he added, leading her across the shop.

Bill spent the next 15 minutes going through books with Hermione which she found very helpful and remarkably sweet of him. He waited patiently while she paid for the books and shrunk them to fit into her bag along with the rest of the presents.

Once she was done, they weaved through the busy street together and darted through the Leaky Cauldron, back into Muggle London.

They headed into the café together and Bill spotted two comfortable armchairs by the window, “Go sit down, I’ll pick this up,” he assured her.

Hermione thanked him and nabbed the two comfortable seats. It wasn’t until Bill came over with the coffee’s that Hermione realised quite how date-like this was which made butterflies flutter rather violently in her stomach.

“The girls get home tomorrow,” Bill said conversationally, “Fleur and I are going to put on an act, just until Christmas is over and then the truth will have to come out. I think Vic will take it harder than Dom.”

“I think you’re right,” Hermione agreed, sipping her coffee and sighing in contentment, “I love peppermint at Christmas time, oh and gingerbread. Do you know Harry makes the best gingerbread?”

“I make pretty good gingerbread too, I’ll let you try it sometime,” Bill said, glad that she had changed the subject before he could get too sad about the fact he would have to tell his daughters about the divorce in a matter of days.

“I’ll see you on Christmas Day,” Hermione said, “You’ll be at the Burrow, won’t you?”

“Course we will, wouldn’t miss Mum’s Christmas lunch for the world,” Bill said with a smile, “Regardless of anything else that’s going on, that’s a tradition.”

Hermione smiled sadly, “Charlie won’t be there.”

“No, he won’t be.”

“What did he say to you in his latest letter?” Hermione asked curiously.

“That he was sorry that he couldn’t make it back for Christmas but that he was making progress with a young dragon and if he left now, she would think he had abandoned her and he wouldn’t be able to gain her trust back,” Bill replied, “He told me to make sure I had a drink for him at the Burrow.”

Hermione chuckled softly, “He told me something similar, about the dragon that is. Then he added that I ought to grab myself a kiss under the mistletoe before Christmas was over because with him gone I clearly hadn’t been kissed in a while.”

Bill laughed and caught her eye, “I’m sure that could be arranged.”

Hermione held his gaze for a little too long, her cheeks tinged a faint pink. She didn’t chastise him or argue with him over it though, because in all honesty, if he did kiss her, she was relatively sure that she wouldn’t be able to resist kissing him back.

Hermione broke the eye contact first and looked down into her coffee. Bill reached across the table and took her hand, “Hermione, I’m not telling you this because I’m trying to drive a wedge between you and Char. I’m telling you this because I feel like you already know anyway but just need someone to confirm it for you. I suspected for a long time, and Char confirmed it himself before he left to go to the island, dragons will always come first.”

“You know I know that,” Hermione said, a little sharply, “I’ve come to terms with that Bill.”

“But you know what it means,” Bill said gently, he was pushing. Gently pushing, but pushing all the same.

“It means he won’t stay in one place for long, making a relationship difficult or impossible. I know that and he knows that, which is why as nice as the letters are, they are only letters. There is no commitment there, no relationship, no promise of something more. It’s just letters,” Hermione said quietly, “I am a little down at the moment, but it has nothing to do with Charlie and his love affair with dragons, it has everything to do with the fact that Ron has been a part of Christmas for me for a very long time, and now he’s…not.”

Bill squeezed her hand, “I know.”

“And I feel conflicted because I know he was doing bad things in the end,” Hermione added with a frown, “He was rebelling, thinking Grindelwald’s ideas were right, and Godric knows what else he was planning or plotting. That should make me angry, but at this time of the year I don’t think about who he was at the end, I think about the boy I fell in love with and the Christmases that I spent with him.”

“I know,” Bill said again, softly this time, “Fleur and I never really worked which was my fault. How can any relationship work around the twisted relationship that Char and I have? I could never let Fleur in on that secret so I could never be truly honest with her you know? But despite the lies and the secrecy, there were good times and one of the most memorable was a Christmas.”

Hermione watched him with interest as he shared this with her.

“It was Vic’s first Christmas,” Bill said, a fond smile playing on his lips, “She was a baby, she loved all the lights on the tree, Fleur and I were the happiest that we had ever been. That day was true bliss and every Christmas, every time I see Christmas lights, I go back to that Christmas.”

Hermione nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is that you can still enjoy Christmas,” Bill said, getting to the point, “You can look back fondly on your memories of happy Christmases, but that doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying this one.”

“I just don’t know what to tell the kids,” Hermione admitted, “They haven’t said anything but they must be upset that their Dad won’t be here this Christmas.”

“Maybe you should wait for them to approach you about it,” Bill suggested, “They will be dealing with things in their own way, coming to terms with their loss just as you have been.”

Hermione nodded slowly, “Yeah…I guess you’re right.”

Bill squeezed her hand and Hermione started, it had felt so comfortable that she had forgotten that his hand was still in hers. With his free hand, he gently lifted her chin so that he could look at her. Bill smiled softly and said, “Enjoy your peppermint coffee and stop worrying about everything for five minutes.”

“Alright,” Hermione agreed, sipping her coffee and trying her best to take Bill’s advice and clear her mind of all the worries and doubts.

* * *

“Oh Daphne, before you head off,” Hermione called, dashing into the blonde woman’s office before she could lock up, “I put all of the files in your alcove for the cases that will be dealt with when we get back after Christmas break. I also put my name down as the emergency contact this year if anything urgent comes up so don’t worry about any unexpected floo calls.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, you know Susan and I don’t mind rotating it,” Daphne said as she locked her office door.

“I know, but I’m not feeling as Christmassy as usual this year,” Hermione said with a sigh, “So I figured it was my turn to be the emergency contact since I’ve shirked it for years. I wouldn’t have done it if I minded.”

“It seems to me like you’re trying to escape Christmas,” Daphne said, shooting Hermione a knowing look.

“I’m looking forward to it being over, that much is true,” Hermione said honestly, “The morning with the Potters will be fine but Christmas with the Weasley’s without Ron will be hard.”

“Will Charlie be there?” Daphne asked curiously.

“No, he’s hand-rearing a dragon, he can’t leave or he’ll lose her trust,” Hermione said with a wave of her hand, “It is what it is, you know? It’s like I said to you a few weeks ago, I think it will always be dragons first for him.”

“Bill will be there though, won’t he?” Daphne asked as they stepped into a lift together. The Ministry was practically abandoned because everybody else had already left. Those in the DMLE tended to be the last few to leave the building on Christmas Eve.

“Bill will be there with the woman he just divorced and the two children he has with her,” Hermione said pointedly.

Daphne smirked, “And? It’s a big house, isn’t it? I’m sure you will find mistletoe somewhere.”

“I wish I hadn’t told you about Charlie’s last letter,” Hermione said with an amused shake of her head as the lift came to a stop, “And knowing my luck, I’ll end up underneath it with George and he’ll turn me into a bloody ostrich or something.”

Daphne laughed lightly as they came to a stop in front of the fireplaces.

“In all seriousness, I hope you have a good Christmas.”

“You too Daphne,” Hermione said with a smile, “Even if you do have to spend it with the love of your life who happens to be married to your sister.”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “Don’t remind me. I’ll see you on the 2nd of January unless anything drastic happens over Christmas break.”

“Hopefully not,” Hermione said as she stepped into a fireplace, “Merry Christmas!” she called before floo-ing to Grimmauld Place where she knew the Christmas Eve festivities would already be in full swing.

* * *

“Mum! Mum! Look we made gingerbread witches and wizards!”

Hermione smiled at her daughter as she stepped into the kitchen in Grimmauld Place, “Wow, they look amazing Rosie!”

“Uncle Harry makes the best gingerbread,” Rose said with a smile.

“He does,” Ginny agreed from where she was sitting with her feet on the table, watching Harry bake with the kids.

Harry shot his wife an amused look, “And Aunt Ginny couldn’t bake a cake to save herself.”

“What can I say, we have atypical dynamics in this relationship,” Ginny said, shooting a grin at Hermione.

Hermione laughed and sat down at the table, “Thanks for having us over this year.”

Ginny waved a hand, “You’re family and you need all the support that you can get right now, don’t sweat it.”

“Cup of tea, Mione?” Harry called over the chatter of several excited children who were icing gingerbread biscuits.

“Yes please Harry,” Hermione replied, smiling at her best friend.

“Oi, who bit off Albus Dumbledore’s head?”

The kids descended into laughter, none of them were too old for Harry’s brand of silly humour yet. James was the oldest, having just turned 9 then there were Rose and Albus. Rose was 7 and Albus would be 7 just after Christmas. Lily and Hugo were the babies, Lily having just turned 5 and Hugo, being a few months behind her, would be 5 in March the following year.

“He’s a natural,” Hermione said.

“He always has been, you know how much he loves kids,” Ginny said with a smile, “He’s still trying to convince me to have a fourth you know?”

“Hey, there is something to be said for even numbers,” Hermione chuckled, “Two kids each when you’re out somewhere, then nobody feels left out.”

“See? Even numbers Gin,” Harry said, winking at his wife as he placed a cup of tea in front of Hermione.

“I am not a baby machine, Harry Potter,” Ginny said, accepting a chaste kiss from her Husband.

Before Harry could comment, which may or may not have gotten him slapped, Albus shouted, “Dad! Jamie killed my gingerbread wizard!”

Harry rolled his eyes and turned around, “James Potter, did you have to make it look so gory? You’ll frighten your sister and Hugo.”

“It’s just red icing Dad,” James sulked.

“The gingerbread wizard is bleeding Mummy!” Hugo shrieked.

Ginny sighed and got to her feet, “James, room _now_.”

“Fine,” James huffed, stalking out of the room noisily.

“Come on Hugo, you can help me feed the ducks,” Harry said, sweeping the little boy under his arm and distracting him before the ‘blood’ on the gingerbread man could make him upset about the fact his Dad wasn’t here.

“Thank you,” Hermione mouthed as they disappeared up the steps.

“Are you guys finished decorating now?” Ginny asked, peering over at the counter.

“Yeah Mummy, we’re done,” She said, jumping down from the step she had been using.

“They look amazing,” Ginny said with a smile, “The kitchen is a mess but what lovely gingerbread witches and wizards you’ve made.”

“Thanks, Mum,” Albus grinned.

“Alright then guys, I think you better all head upstairs and wash those sticky little hands,” Ginny said, getting to her feet, “Then we will get changed for supper okay?”

“Okay, Mum!”

“Yeah, Aunt Ginny!”

The kids dashed upstairs in a loud storm of dust. Ginny shook her head in amusement and began to clean the kitchen up with her wand.

“Do you want a hand?” Hermione asked, putting her cup of tea down.

“No, no, it’s just a few cleaning charms. Despite my lack of ability to do any cooking, I can at the very least clean,” Ginny joked.

Hermione chuckled, “You have to be able to, with those two boys living under your roof.”

“Good Godric, they are their Father through and through,” Ginny said with an amused smile.

“You know, neither of my two are that much like Ron. Rose is like me, in every way I think, and Hugo is just a sweet boy, timid sometimes but clever and content with his own company,” Hermione said thoughtfully.

“They both have more of you in them,” Ginny agreed, “But, and I’m sorry if I’m speaking ill of the dead here, Ron wasn’t around very much in the scheme of things. He got home late, he enjoyed his long lies in the morning. He saw them on the weekends and even then, he had to work during a lot of those weekends.”

Hermione nodded her agreement, “You aren’t speaking ill of the dead Gin, you’re just telling the truth,” she said, glad that the conversation came to a stop there when a call from upstairs distracted them.

“Mum! James is sliding down the bannister!”

“Oh, would you shut up Al?!”

* * *

Hermione did manage to enjoy herself that evening. Harry and Ginny kept her distracted with conversation over supper, then they were busy getting the kids in and out of baths and into their pyjama’s. They all sat down in the drawing-room while Harry read the kids a story, which made a lump rise in Hermione’s throat because that had always been Ron’s job on Christmas Eve.

When the kids went to bed, the three adults gathered together in the drawing-room and placed all of the kids presents out for them in separate piles dotted around the room. They put out some magical balloons that changed colour and sparkled. Then with the house set up for the following morning, they locked the drawing-room door and reconvened in the kitchen.

“Wine?”

“Yes please,” Hermione replied.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Harry, “Silly question.”

Harry laughed and handed both women a glass of red wine then he poured one for himself. The three of them sat around the table together and Harry said, “Do you know something, I can’t remember the last time we spent Christmas Eve together Hermione.”

Hermione laughed, “Really?”

Harry nodded, “I mean we haven’t in years. Ever since you and Ron got together, you always did your own thing.”

“I know, that wasn’t why I laughed,” Hermione admitted, “It was because I can remember the last Christmas Eve we spent together, vividly.”

Harry frowned at her, “Am I missing something here?” He asked as Ginny clocked on and chuckled too.

“It was pretty memorable,” Hermione joked, “We went to Godric’s Hollow to see your parents and you nearly got killed by a giant snake.”

“Oh,” Harry realised, smiling at his stupidity, “Jeez, was that really the last time we spent Christmas Eve together?”

Hermione nodded as she thought back to that time, “It was…yeah.”

“Seems a lifetime ago,” Harry admitted.

“It does,” Ginny agreed, “And that’s a good thing. Life is better now than it was back then.”

“For most of us,” Harry agreed, shooting Ginny a warning look and glancing at Hermione.

“You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me because my Husband died,” Hermione said softly, “It happened and it was sad, and we’re all coming to terms with it. But we need to talk about Ron because despite how bad things were at the end, there were good times.”

“Of course there were,” Ginny said, grabbing her friends hand, “You wouldn’t have had those two wonderful kids with him if you hated him after all.”

“No, I wouldn’t have,” Hermione agreed, “For all his faults as a Father, Ron was a good Husband.”

“Not everyone is cut out for Fatherhood,” Harry said with a sad smile, “It didn’t come naturally to Ron.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Hermione said, sipping her wine and sighing, “But we had some good Christmases together over the years, didn’t we? Do you remember that trip to the alps? When Ron said he could ski because he didn’t want to admit to me that he couldn’t?”

Ginny burst out laughing, “Then he went head over heels on the first slope and spent the rest of the trip being called the abominable snowman. How could I forget?”

Harry smiled too, “That was the year he tried to make eggnog, do you remember?”

Hermione laughed out loud, “He couldn’t remember if you were supposed to put one of the above alcoholic beverages into it or all of them so he added a bit of everything.”

“We were all so far gone that year,” Harry laughed, “I think that was the night that James was conceived.”

“I think you’re right,” Ginny agreed through her laughter.

Hermione laughed too, it felt nice to be able to reminisce about Ron like this for the first time. In the strangest sense, it helped her let go and move on.

* * *

Hermione enjoyed herself the following morning. The kids tore into their presents excitedly and the adults laughed and watched them. Rose hugged Hermione when she saw her new books then she took herself off to a quieter corner of the room to immerse herself in them. Hugo was happy with his new toys, and he and Albus got into an immediate game of dragons and broomsticks.

They convinced the kids to have some breakfast, then dragged them away from their presents to wrestle them into dresses and shirts so that everyone was ready to head to the Burrow. Hermione wasn’t sure what to wear, she normally let Ron choose something for her. He never chose dresses, he had always said her legs were too thick, so he chose jeans and blouses.

As Hermione looked at the selection of clothes that she had brought with her to Grimmauld Place, she decided that she was going to be bold this year so she put the jeans aside and took a dress out of her carry bag.

Harry and Ginny both gave her a surprised look, but neither of them said anything bad when she joined the others in the kitchen. Ginny leant in and murmured, “Good for you,” while they were getting coats and hats on the kids.

Hermione smiled at her friend, “Thank you,” she said, grabbing Hugo and wrestling a Chudley cannons hat onto his head, “If you don’t get ready, we can’t go to Grandma’s,” she said, giving him a warning look.

* * *

Bill’s Christmas morning had been enjoyable, having the girls back had been a joy for himself and Fleur. They hadn’t had to fake their happiness at all as they enjoyed watching their girls enjoy themselves.

They headed to The Burrow, as they always did, to keep up appearances. But although they could happily co-exist for the sake of their daughters, there were no little touches anymore, no grabbing each other’s hands, no supportive hand on each other’s backs. From a physical perspective, things were cold between them and Bill knew that some people would pick up on that more than others.

“Oh, the others are arriving!” Molly said as the door to the kitchen opened and the wind made it crash against the wall loudly.

“Oh for goodness sake James, you don’t know your own strength,” Ginny chastised as she followed her children into the house and took her hat off, shaking the snowflakes out of her hair.

Harry stepped in after her and gave his sons a warning look, “Best behaviour you two. Come on guys, get out of that storm.”

Rose and Hugo scurried into the kitchen, and Hermione brought up the rear, pulling the door shut behind her. Bill had expected her to look much the same as she always did; smart casual with jeans and boots, As such, he stared at her for a moment too long when he saw what she had opted to wear instead.

It was a simple black dress, with a white peter pan collar and white embroidered flowers down each side. It was fitted and it stopped just above the knee, she had worn it with black ankle boots and had left her long, untamed curls down rather than wrestling them into a bun as she had to for work.

“Oh you look wonderful Hermione dear,” Molly said, pulling Bill out of his thoughts.

He quickly turned around, glad that Fleur hadn’t been in the kitchen to witness him ogling his brothers widow.

“Thank you, Molly,” Hermione said, taking off her black and white tartan coat and hanging it up as she ran a hand through her hair, which was damp from the snowstorm that was starting up outside.

“Dinner will be a little while yet,” Molly said, “So you had best go find your cousins,” she added, for the sake of the kids.

They didn’t need to be told twice, their favourite thing about being at the Burrow with the rest of the family was that they could play with their cousins.

“I’ll supervise,” Harry said, following the excited kids out of the room.

“Do you need any help, Molly?” Hermione asked.

“Yeah, want a hand with anything Mum?” Ginny echoed.

“Oh Ginny darling, if you could set the table I would appreciate it,” Molly said with a sigh of relief, “And Hermione, Bill was just saying that he was struggling to lock up the garage before the storm hits, he needs someone to hold the door. Would you be a dear and help him?”

“Of course Molly,” Hermione said, putting her coat back on and placing a rain repellent charm on herself.

Bill smiled at her, “Into the wild we go then,” he said, opening the door and allowing a flurry of snow to enter the kitchen.

They ran across the garden together to the garage. The door was blowing in the wind and it was due to get worse as the day went on, according to the weather forecast.

“I’ll hold, you lock,” Hermione called over the wind.

Bill nodded and cast the locking charm the moment Hermione managed to get the two doors flush with each other.

“Come on, let’s check on the animals then head back inside!” Bill called, grabbing her hand and leading her to the front of the house, which was a little more sheltered from the storm.

“We should cast a warming charm on the hen house,” Hermione suggested.

Bill nodded and did so, then he made sure the hens were locked up safely. While he did so, Hermione placed a rain repellent charm on the pigs and looked up at the darkening sky, “It might knock the floo system out at this rate!”

Bill looked up too and nodded, “It might well do,” he agreed.

Hermione shivered, she was dry but it was still cold outside and she wasn’t wearing the warmest coat in the world.

“Come on, let’s go in the front,” Bill said, grabbing her hand and pulling her in through the rarely used front door which brought them into a porch that then led into the living room.

Hermione took the rain repellent charm off as Bill shut the front door. She reached for the door to the living room, but before she could, Bill distracted her by laughing lightly.

Hermione turned to look at him, “What is it?”

“Look up,” Bill said, gesturing to the roof.

Hermione looked up and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw a sprig of mistletoe above them.

“Charlie did say that he wanted you to have a kiss under the mistletoe,” Bill joked, catching her eye.

“I doubt he wanted me to have it with his older brother,” Hermione pointed out.

“He’s on an island hand-rearing a dragon, that’s why he isn’t with his family for Christmas,” Bill pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Hermione and taking a step closer to her in the narrow hallway, “Does it matter what he wants?”

Hermione wanted to say that it did matter, that it mattered that Fleur was in the house, just through that door. That it mattered that their kids were in the house, but before she could verbalise any of those thoughts, Bill closed the gap and kissed her.

It was different from that first time, it was different because neither of them had been drinking, and because there were most certainly feelings involved now, on both sides. Hermione had known that if Bill kissed her, she would be pretty much powerless when it came to resisting because ever since that night a few weeks ago, she had thought about it _a lot_ , a lot more than she should have done.

And all her thinking had been right, Bill was a fantastic kisser. But she couldn’t help but compare him to Charlie too. Charlie kissed her hard, he gripped her tightly, like he was always afraid that she would disappear if he let go.

But Bill kissed her softly, tentatively, as if he was testing the waters to see how much he could get away with. He kissed her like he had all the time in the world, like their entire family weren’t just through the door. Hermione found herself lifting her head and kissing him back, her hands instinctively going to his hair. She found herself pulling him closer, she found herself wanting more.

That thought scared her, so she broke the kiss and took a step back.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped,” Bill said, instantly sensing her fear.

Hermione shook her head, “It’s not that…it’s just…”

“Not here, not now?” Bill guessed.

Hermione nodded. She fixed her hair and cleared her throat, “But the offer still stands if tomorrow goes badly and you need somewhere to go after you and Fleur tell the girls.”

Bill smiled at her, “Thank you, I appreciate that.”

Hermione smiled too then darted into the house before any further ‘moments’ could happen.

* * *

Thankfully, Hermione and Bill were seated at opposite ends of the table for Christmas dinner, but shortly after they had eaten, they were all surprised by the floo activating.

“Oh everyone, it’s Charlie!” Molly exclaimed, calling everyone into the living room, “Come and say Merry Christmas to Charlie!”

Hermione hung back as the Weasley’s all took turns waving at Charlie and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Bill was the last to step up, he smiled at his brother but perhaps not as warmly as he once had.

“Merry Christmas Char.”

“Merry Christmas Billy,” Charlie said, smiling broadly at his brother.

“Still rearing that baby dragon?” Bill asked, perhaps a small note of bitterness in his voice but Hermione thought that she might have been the only one who picked up on it.

“I am,” Charlie said, ignoring his brothers slightly ‘bitchy’ tone, “Here she is, she’s called Sofia.”

The others all awed at the baby dragon, even Hermione smiled when she saw it.

“You guys all having a good time?” Charlie asked the room in general.

“Yeah, we’re having fun Uncle Charlie!” Hugo answered.

Hermione stepped forward and ruffled her son's hair, catching Charlie’s eye as she did so.

“Hey Hermione, Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you too Charlie,” Hermione said, smiling easily at Charlie.

The smile Charlie gave her back was completely genuine, perhaps the first genuine one she had seen since he floo-ed them and it made butterflies flutter in her stomach. She rolled her eyes internally, _why did both of those Weasley men make her feel like a school kid again?_

“Anyway, it was just a quick one guys,” Charlie said, breaking eye contact with Hermione to look at his parents, “I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but I had better get back.”

“Okay Charlie, thank you for floo-ing sweetheart,” Molly said with a tearful smile.

“Merry Christmas!” The others all echoed as the floo connection cut out.

The group started to disperse back into varying rooms, but Bill sat down in an armchair by the fireplace and sighed quietly to himself. He had thought, or perhaps _hoped_ that things seemed to be going somewhere between himself and Hermione but then Charlie’s face had appeared in the fireplace and she had looked at him with such adoration, despite the fact he had left them to chase dragons and adventure.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	12. The Plot Thickens

When Bill appeared on Hermione’s doorstep on the evening of boxing day, he was a mess.

Hermione could smell the alcohol on his breath the moment that she opened the door. She sighed and let him in, forcing him into a chair at the dining room table, “You’ve been drinking.”

“I’ve been drinking my sorrows away yeah,” Bill agreed bluntly.

Hermione drew her dressing gown in closer and looked at the clock, it was after midnight, “It’s late Bill.”

“I know,” Bill said.

Hermione looked at him across the table, “Was it that bad?”

Bill rested his head on his two index fingers, “It was bad. They both cried, they said that they hated us. They blamed me for not liking France and for hating their stupid French names that Fleur had insisted on naming them. They blamed Fleur for always trying to force me to move to France. I am to blame, but they don’t know why and they never will so I let them hurl abuse at me then Fleur suggested I leave while they calm down.”

“They go back to school tomorrow, don’t they?”

Bill nodded.

“Which means that officially, you have nowhere to live,” Hermione added.

“Yeah, I suppose I’ll move in with Mum,” Bill said, shrugging at the thought.

“No, you’ll move in here. Take the top bedroom that Charlie used to sleep in, and focus on getting yourself back on track,” Hermione said softly, “The girls are angry, kids often are in the wake of a divorce. That’s nothing new or scary Bill, you and Fleur just need to give them time and space to calm down. Keep writing to them, assure them that you don’t love them any less just because you aren’t married to each other anymore and before long, this will become the new normal for you all.”

Bill nodded, his head falling into his hands, “Thank you, Hermione,” he mumbled.

“Anytime,” Hermione promised softly, “But I think right now, what you need more than anything else, is sleep. Come on Bill.”

* * *

If Hermione was honest, she hadn’t expected to get called in over Christmas despite volunteering herself on behalf of the department. In the 7 years that Hermione had worked in the DMLE as a lawyer, it had only happened once when a serious murder occurred on Christmas Eve.

Minor crimes could wait, it would take something big to pull Aurors, lawyers, etc off of their Christmas break and take them away from their families.

As such, when Hermione’s emergency beacon activated in the early hours of the morning, she frowned for a good few seconds before she worked out what the noise was. When she realised it was the beacon, she answered the call immediately and heard the voice of her boss.

“Emergency protocol has been activated because a serious crime has been committed. Report to the Auror Office as soon as possible.”

The message then cut out so Hermione got up and dressed, glancing at the clock as she did so.

_6.05 am._

Who was going to watch the kids at this time? Everyone would be asleep because everyone was on holiday at the moment. She stepped out of her bedroom and looked at the staircase leading upstairs thinking, _I could ask Bill._

She owed Bill more favours than she could count right now, but he was already here anyway so surely it was worth a shot…

“Screw it, I’ll ask Bill,” Hermione muttered, heading up the stairs as quietly as possible to avoid waking the kids up.

She took a breath and knocked on the door, not sure why she felt nervous about doing that. She waited for a moment, but there was no sign of movement inside the bedroom. She knocked again, but there was still nothing.

“Great,” Hermione muttered, opening the door and stepping into the darkened room, with just the light from the hall to guide her.

She had planned on gently shaking Bill awake then begging him to help her out, but she froze in the doorway instead because Bill wasn’t asleep under the covers like she had expected, and he wasn’t wearing pyjamas as she had expected. In fact, he wasn’t wearing anything and he had thrown the duvet off of the bed.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly and cleared her throat, “Bill please wake up and cover yourself up.”

She could tell that he awoke with a start from how frantic the movement was. After a few seconds, he said, “I’m decent.”

Hermione uncovered her eyes, grateful that the darkness hid her blush, “I knocked.”

“I’m a deep sleeper,” Bill said apologetically.

Hermione cleared her throat, “Clearly.”

“Did you see anything?” Bill asked, although he didn’t sound overly embarrassed, if anything he seemed vaguely amused.

“Everything,” Hermione muttered under her breath, the blush creeping up her face some more, “And I know it’s my fault for barging into your bedroom but you know how I’m on call over Christmas, I did tell you that didn’t I?”

“You did,” Bill replied.

“Well I need to go,” Hermione said, “Because I got a call, I don’t know what happened but there was a serious crime and I need to go in. But it’s coming up on 6.30 am and everyone is on holiday but you’re here anyway and-”

“I’ll watch the kids,” Bill interjected, smiling sleepily at her, “If you got an urgent call you better go.”

“Thank you,” Hermione breathed, “Sorry for dumping them on you but thank you.”

“It’s fine,” Bill assured her with a smile, “Just go.”

Hermione smiled at him one last time before sweeping out of the house.

* * *

Making her way through the Ministry was like walking through a ghost town that morning. There was no security wizard, she didn’t see a single person in the atrium, or the lift or even at the reception in the DMLE. It was only when she got to the Auror department that she was met with humanity.

“Ah Granger, you’re here,” Her boss said gratefully, “We had a call this morning, and it needs to be dealt with immediately. The subject is sensitive so please treat it as such.”

Hermione nodded, “What happened?”

“Astoria Malfoy was murdered, late last night,” Morton replied, “The circumstances look suspicious so our first port of call will be to interview the Husband.”

“Draco,” Harry said darkly, he was the Senior Auror and there appeared to be four others, obviously the ones who had drawn the short straw. Hermione was the only lawyer and Morton was here because he was Head of Department.

“Has Daphne been informed, sir?” Hermione asked Morton.

“Not yet Granger,” Morton replied, “I was going to have the Aurors do it this morning.”

“With all due respect sir, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Hermione cut in cautiously, “She is not a trusting person, but she is my friend so I would appreciate it if you let me break the news to her.”

Morton bowed his head, “If you think that’s what’s best for her, then be my guest Granger.”

“Sir, if you want to bow out and get back to your kids, I think we’ve got this covered,” Harry said, glancing at Hermione.

Morton nodded, “Alright Potter, I won’t turn that offer down. If anything changes, let me know.”

“Will do sir,” Harry promised.

Morton nodded one last time then left the room, leaving Harry, Hermione and the four Aurors.

Harry addressed them all, but the Aurors more than Hermione, “Alright, we have to treat this like every other serious murder case that comes in. We start with the Husband, we get alibis from anyone else who could be involved and then we take it from there. Any questions before I start chucking case files at you?”

The Aurors shook their heads, “No sir.”

At that Harry handed out a case file to each Auror and took a step closer to Hermione, “Let’s have a little chat about this by the coffee machine.”

Hermione nodded and walked with him. Once they were out of earshot, Hermione said, “Harry, I know what you’re going to say but Daphne didn’t do this.”

“She’s your friend, you don’t want to admit that she would be capable of doing it,” Harry whispered.

“She is my friend which is why I know she wouldn’t do this. There was no love lost between her and Astoria, but she loves her nephew. She would never take Scorpius’s Mother away from him.”

“I’m just saying, she has to be treated like any other person of interest in this case,” Harry said quietly, handing Hermione a cup of coffee in a cardboard cup then fixing one for himself.

“I understand that, but I can tell you right now that Daphne didn’t do this.”

“Do you think Draco might have?” Harry asked.

“Honestly? No,” Hermione admitted, “He couldn’t kill Dumbledore, who he hated. What makes you think he could kill his wife?”

“Well for one, because he was a boy then and he’s a man now,” Harry said.

“And?” Hermione prodded.

“And he hated his wife, didn’t he? He never wanted to marry her, he wanted to marry Daphne but the arranged marriage contract stated that he had to marry Astoria,” Harry said, he shrugged, “Doesn’t seem like someone he cared for much.”

“They have a son together,” Hermione said sternly, “Regardless of how much they do or don’t love each other, that changes things. You can hate someone, you can want to leave them but there will always be that one thing that stops you, and a child is _that_ thing, trust me.”

Harry didn’t argue with her, not with the tears he saw in her eyes and the raw emotion in her voice. He nodded, “Fine, I’ll humour you. If the Husband or the Mistress didn’t kill the wife, who did?”

“Someone who wants to frame Draco or Daphne, or maybe even Draco and Daphne,” Hermione replied in a whisper, “If the evidence points towards them, it’s because someone wants it to.”

“Who would have a grudge against them both though?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” Hermione admitted, “But if the evidence goes that way, please don’t automatically arrest Draco and Daphne, or assume that one of them did it.”

“I won’t,” Harry said, “But I will question them and if you wish to be there to act as a lawyer for either or both of them, then you can be.”

“Thanks, Harry,” Hermione said gratefully.

Harry smiled at her, “I’m fair about this, Hermione. You know that,” he said as they headed back over to the Aurors in the bullpen, “By the way, who's watching your kids this morning?”

“Bill,” Hermione replied, hoping that would be the end of that and that they could get back to talking about the case.

“Bill?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“He came to my house drunk last night, upset about how the girls had taken the news that he and Fleur were divorcing,” Hermione explained, “So I let him crash in the spare room and when I got the call this morning, I figured he wouldn’t mind watching them since he was there anyway.”

“You better watch,” Harry said quietly, now that they were back in earshot of the other Aurors, “You’re playing with fire here.”

“I know,” Hermione whispered back.

Harry cleared his throat, “Alright guys, the murder of Astoria Malfoy. We’re going to head to the crime scene and gather evidence. Hermione is going to come with us because she needs to be present for the questioning of Draco Malfoy. After that, we’re going to interview Draco Malfoy’s mistress, the victim’s sister.”

There was a whistle, “Juicy,” one of the Aurors said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. Harry began to follow her but the other Aurors didn’t, “Are you lot coming or not?”

“Oh yeah, did I forget to mention? Bossy is Hermione’s middle name!” Harry called to the Aurors as they followed him and Hermione out of the DMLE.

* * *

The crime scene was as horrific as Hermione expected. She waited outside while they gathered evidence, then she had a heated (but whispered) debate with Harry about the fact that the evidence pointed towards Draco and Daphne.

“I told you that it would!” She hissed, “Just interview him before you make that call.”

Harry had grudgingly agreed, so Hermione had sat through Draco’s interview. It was clear to both of them by the end of the interview that Draco hadn’t killed his wife. His hands shook and he cried throughout the interview, and both Harry and Hermione had learned when to tell if tears were fake, or if they were tears of guilt. Draco’s were neither.

As such, it was midday before they apparated to Daphne’s flat together. This was, of course, the part of the day that Hermione had been dreading. She took a deep breath then raised her hand and knocked on the door.

After a few minutes, they heard shuffling inside the flat and then the door opened. Daphne’s eyes widened when she saw them on her doorstep, “Oh no…no no, you would only be here if something bad had happened. Is Scorpius okay?”

“Scorpius is fine,” Hermione assured Daphne, “But your sister isn’t.”

Daphne frowned, “Astoria? But she was fine when I saw her yesterday.”

“Well she’s not fine now, she’s dead,” Harry said, narrowing his eyes at Daphne.

“Dead?” Daphne asked sharply.

“Dead, and as Draco Malfoy’s mistress, that makes you a person of interest in the case,” Harry said, taking care to keep his voice emotionless.

“Harry has to interview you, Daphne,” Hermione said gently, “Which is why I’m here, to act as your lawyer in case he tries to take that too far. You understand why we have to do it, don’t you?”

Daphne nodded and took a step back from the door, clearly shocked by the news of her sister's demise. She led Harry and Hermione into the living room then sat down on the sofa, drawing her feet up underneath her.

“How did she die?” Daphne asked quietly.

“She was poisoned,” Harry replied, sitting down in an armchair opposite her “And the bottle that the poison was in, had your fingerprints on it.”

“My fingerprints?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “What was she poisoned with?”

“A sleeping potion, she ingested three times the suggested dosage and she overdosed,” Harry said as Hermione took a seat next to Daphne.

She reached out and grabbed the blonde woman’s hand.

“But…” Daphne frowned, “I got her that potion. She told me that the nightmares were coming back so she asked if I could pick up the potion she used to use as a teenager when I was at the apothecary. That’s why it has my fingerprints on it.”

Hermione shot Harry a knowing look and mouthed, “See?”

Harry sighed and looked over at Daphne, “Where were you between the hours of 11 pm on Boxing day and 3 am this morning?”

“Here sleeping,” Daphne replied quietly, “Alone, so I don’t have an alibi.”

“You can understand why yourself and Draco are the most likely suspects here, can’t you?” Harry asked, surveying Daphne, “You were having an affair behind your sisters back. Either of you had a reason to want her dead.”

“I won’t lie and say I was sad about the fact they had been going through divorce proceedings. I did want her to divorce Draco, but I didn’t want her dead,” Daphne said sharply, “Sure, Astoria and I were never the best of friends but she is Scorpius’s Mother and I would never have wished this on her…never.”

“Then who would?” Harry asked bluntly, “Because all of the evidence is stacking up against you and Draco.”

“Can you think of any reason that someone would want to frame you or Draco for Astoria’s death?” Hermione asked Daphne gently.

Daphne shook her head, “No, I can’t even think of any reason why someone would want to hurt Astoria.”

“Alright Daphne, you’re going to have to take some leave from work until the case is solved,” Hermione said in an undertone, “But I promise I’ll keep you in the loop.”

Daphne nodded, still a little numb from the news, “Thank you, Hermione, I appreciate that.”

* * *

When Hermione finally got home that day, it was fast approaching dinner time and she had a file in her bag that she was going to have to go through that evening once the kids had gone to bed.

“Mum you’re home!”

Hermione smiled as Hugo ran straight for her, “Hey baby, I’m back. I’m really sorry that I had to work today.”

“It’s okay Mum, your job is very important,” Rose said, without looking up from her book.

“And we had fun with Uncle Bill!”

Hermione looked up at Bill who was cooking, “Did you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the redheaded man.

“Rose just wanted to read all day, but I did force her to eat some breakfast and lunch,” Bill informed Hermione, “And Hugo needed a little more entertaining so I entertained him.”

“He blew stuff up for Hugo all day Mum,” Rose remarked casually.

“You blew stuff up?” Hermione asked in surprise, “What kind of stuff?”

“Volcanoes!”

“Science and magic do mix,” Bill said, winking at Hermione, “How are you with chicken hot pot?”

“Fine,” Hermione smiled, “Is that all you can cook? Because it’s Charlie’s signature dish too.”

“That’s because I taught Charlie how to cook it,” Bill chuckled, “I’ve tried to teach him other recipes but he never remembers them. I, however, am a fine cook I shall have you know.”

“Good because if you’re going to be living here, you will need to do your fair share,” Hermione teased.

Bill didn’t take it as a joke, he just smiled over at her and said, “Of course I will. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking me in, I won’t take that for granted.”

Rose rolled her eyes, “Mum, you might as well just turn this place into a hotel.”

Bill laughed out loud at that, a barking laugh that Hermione found she was very fond of. Hermione crossed her arms and looked at her daughter sternly, “No sarcasm at the dinner table young lady.”

* * *

Hermione was itching to talk to Bill about the case, but because of the nature of it, she waited until the kids ran upstairs to do their homework after dinner.

“I’ll clear up Bill, you cooked,” Hermione said, getting up from the table and levitating the dishes into the sink with her wand.

“In that case, I’ll put a pot of coffee on because you look like you need to talk about something,” Bill said, he was more observant than she had realised, she had to give him credit for that.

“It’s just the case that I got pulled in for,” Hermione said with a sigh, “The victim is Astoria Malfoy, the sister of one of the lawyers who I work with, Daphne.”

“That’s close to home,” Bill remarked.

Hermione nodded as she began to wash the dishes by hand, “Yeah, especially since the prime suspects are Draco and Daphne. All of the evidence is pointing towards them but I just know that neither of them did it. If you could have seen Draco in the interview, you would know, I mean I knew him at school and he’s not that good an actor.”

“And Daphne is your friend, so you know that she wouldn’t do something like that?” Bill guessed.

“Exactly,” Hermione said, her frown deepening, “So it looks like someone is trying to set up Daphne and Draco, which is what’s baffling me because the only person who I can think of who would have a grudge against them is Astoria.”

“Why is that?” Bill asked curiously.

“Well, because Daphne and Draco have been having an affair for years, since before Scorpius was even born,” Hermione answered.

Bill frowned too, “Say that part again, about the only person who would have a grudge against those two.”

Hermione looked over at him with a frown, “The only person who has a reason to frame Daphne and Draco is Astoria, and she’s dead.”

Bill’s eyes widened as he nodded, “Yes, she is. How did she die?”

“She overdosed on a sleeping draught,” Hermione replied, “Why?”

“Because I think I’ve just cracked your case!” Bill said, clicking his fingers excitedly, “Astoria _is_ trying to frame Draco and Daphne for her death.”

Hermione opened her mouth to object, but then she realised what he meant and her own eyes widened, “Because she killed herself!”

Bill nodded, “She killed herself, but made it look like Draco and Daphne killed her.”

“God, she must have been in a dreadful place to do that,” Hermione said sadly.

“And Draco and Daphne are technically still to blame,” Bill pointed out, “Because you can assume that she killed herself when she found out about their betrayal.”

“And she left that poor little boy without a Mother,” Hermione said, she sighed and leant against the counter, “He’s the same age as Rosie.”

Bill rested his hand on the small of her back, “I could point out a really insensitive bright side to all of this.”

Hermione snorted, “That sounds exactly like the kind of thing Ron used to do, but go ahead.”

“You don’t need to work over New Year, because dead people don’t need lawyers,” Bill pointed out.

“Bill!” Hermione chastised.

“I warned you, it was insensitive,” Bill admitted sheepishly.

“It is a valid point though,” Hermione said as she thought on this, “I’ll talk to Harry via floo tomorrow morning and he’ll take it from there. Assuming he can find evidence to support our theory, nobody will be convicted because there is no murderer.”

“If I were you though, I would make sure that you talk to your friend about this,” Bill suggested, “Because Harry isn’t the most tactful person in the world.”

Hermione snorted, “That’s being polite to Harry,” she said with a chuckle.

Bill laughed too, but at that point, their conversation was interrupted by Rose skipping into the kitchen with a notebook, “Mum, can you and Uncle Bill help me with my homework?”

“Sure thing sweetheart,” Hermione said, drying her hands on a dishtowel and sitting down with Bill at the table. The Weasley slid a cup of coffee over to her and she smiled gratefully at him, “Thanks, Bill.”

“How can we help you, Rosie?”

“Well I’m supposed to interview my parents about their jobs but I told my teacher that my Dad was dead so she told me just to interview someone else instead,” Rose said matter of factly, “So I want to interview you and Uncle Bill, Mum.”

“Okay,” Hermione said with a sad smile, “Whose first then?”

“You,” Rose said, sitting down opposite them and readying her pencil, “Mum, what is your job?”

“I’m a lawyer sweetie,” Hermione replied, smiling as Rose stuck her tongue out a little while she concentrated on spelling the word lawyer.

“Where do you work Mum?” Rose asked next.

“Now, I can’t answer that one honestly because your classmates are Muggles, remember?” Hermione reminded her daughter, “So instead of saying I work for the Ministry, let’s just say that I work for the Government.”

“How do you spell that Mum?”

Hermione spelt out the word for Rose, then the little girl asked, “What do you do in your job?”

“I make sure bad people go to jail when they do bad things,” Hermione replied.

Rose wrote this down and smiled brightly, “Thanks, Mum. Uncle Bill, may I interview you now?”

Bill smiled brightly at her, “Of course you can Rosie, but we will have to tell some white lies because your classmates can’t know that I’m a Cursebreaker, okay?”

“Okay,” Rose said, readying her pencil once more, “What is your job?”

Bill paused and glanced at Hermione, “What do you think, shall we say that I’m an Archaeologist?”

“That’s a good idea,” Hermione agreed.

Rose giggled, “Uncle Bill, I know I’m clever but I can’t spell that word!”

Bill laughed too, “Oh I’m sorry Rosie, here let me spell it out for you…”

Rose wrote the letters as Bill spelt out the word. Once she was done, she paused for a moment before poising her pencil over the next line, “Where do you work?”

“I work in a…bank?”

“No, Archaeologists don’t work in banks Bill,” Hermione said, chuckling under her breath, “Say that he works in a Museum, Rosie.”

“Okay Mum,” Rose said, writing that down, “What do you do in your job, Uncle Bill?”

“Well Rose, I find old artefacts and I investigate them.”

“Uncle Bill, I’m only seven, I can’t spell these words,” Rose said, giggling again.

Bill spelt out a couple more words for her, while Hermione smiled behind her cup of coffee. Once she was done, she thanked them and said that she was going upstairs to get ready for bed.

“She’s precious, isn’t she?” Bill asked, smiling in her wake.

“Precocious more like,” Hermione said, throwing Bill an amused smile, “I see what my parents had to put up with now.”

Bill laughed, “Hogwarts won’t know what’s hit it when Rose Weasley shows up.”

Hermione smiled softly, “No…it won’t,” she agreed.

* * *

“You think she killed herself?”

Hermione shot Harry an irritated look, “ _Think_ about it. Who would have a grudge against Draco and Daphne?”

“Astoria, _if_ she knew about the affair,” Harry replied, “But why would she kill herself just so that Draco and Daphne could suffer?”

“Maybe she was struggling mentally,” Hermione suggested, “You should talk to her Healer.”

“I’ll request her medical records, but I think you’re clutching at straws, Hermione.”

“I’m not clutching at straws, I’m using logic to reach a logical conclusion,” Hermione argued.

“Astoria had a son. Why would she kill herself when she knew that he depended on her?” Harry questioned, “Then there’s the matter of how Draco and Daphne don’t suspect that. She would only have killed herself if she had found out about them, which would mean that they lied to us when they both said that Astoria didn’t know about the affair.”

Hermione sighed, “I agree, it doesn’t add up.”

“You have a valid point,” Harry admitted, “But something feels off here, so I’m going to have to dig a little deeper.”

“Do you need me to do anything?” Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head, “If I find any new witnesses of note, I’ll floo you but until then, enjoy the holidays with the kids.”

“I will,” Hermione promised, “Don’t work too hard Harry.”

“I’ll try not to,” Harry said, smiling weakly at her before cutting the connection.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	13. Elementary, my dear Hermione

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Sherlock crossover chapter. It's probably a bit off with BBC Sherlock canon timing etc, but I added it for a bit of fun. There's no reason why Hermione couldn't have gone to school and been BFF's with John Watson is there? ;)

_“Hermione,_

_Sofia is doing well, I wasn’t sure that she would survive at first so I tried not to get attached, but I’m not very good at that as you well know. So I did all I could and I think it might have been enough. She does seem to think that I’m her mother, she wasn’t very happy when I told her she wasn’t getting any dragon milk from me.”_ Hermione snorted in amusement at that image, _“So far we have extracted all of the babies that we found in the lab, apart from Sofia because she spends every day on my shoulder and wails something awful if I try to leave her behind. The team and I are working on extracting the adult females now, the more placid ones have already been shipped back to Wales, Ireland and Iceland but the ones that are left have much more fire, literally,”_ Hermione smiled and shook her head at the pun, _“We have a lot of South American dragons too, so as well as having that South American fiery temper, we are going to have to be very careful when it comes to getting those ladies home._

_Anyway, enough about me. How are you? Did you all have a good Christmas? How is Rosie, did she pass her Math exam? The one she was worried about? What about Hugo? Is he still blowing things up? And is Bill doing alright? He says he’s fine when he writes but he did just get divorced._

_Hope to speak to you soon,_

_Charlie.”_

Hermione grabbed a piece of parchment from one of the kitchen drawers and began to pen her reply.

_“Charlie,_

_I am glad to hear that Sofia is doing well. I never doubted that she would survive when I found out that she had the best Dragonologist this side of the Atlantic to look after her. She’s a very lucky whelp indeed. It sounds like a mammoth task, which I guess means you will be on that island for a long time like you thought when you left._

_We had a lovely Christmas, and for the first time since he died I think, I allowed myself to remember Ron fondly rather than just looking back bitterly on all the pain he had caused me and the kids. We spent the morning with Harry, Ginny and the kids then we went to the Burrow as you know from our very short floo-call. How on earth did you find a fireplace on a deserted island full of dragons by the way?_

_I’m fine, just a little floored with something that happened at work the other day. My friend Daphne, her sister was killed, and the prime suspects are Daphne and her lover, who also happened to be married to her sister. You can see why the Aurors think it was them, but I know it wasn’t and Bill is helping me to prove that.”_

Hermione paused, unsure if she should mention Bill in the letter or not. Charlie had asked how he was doing, so she figured that it was safe to do so.

_“Rosie is great, and she did pass that Math exam. She got her score just before the schools broke off for Christmas, 98% can you believe? Hugo is also doing well, he and Bill had great fun blowing things up and mixing science with magic while I had to work on that case I was telling you about._

_As for Bill, he is doing okay, but the girls took the news harder than he expected. They aren’t responding to Bill or Fleur’s letters at the moment and they are angry about the fact their parents are divorcing. Bill is blaming himself, he thinks the reason that he and Fleur couldn’t make it work is because of his other relationship, the one he can’t shake. But honestly Charlie, I think he and Fleur just rushed in too fast because there was a war on. I can hardly judge him for that, can I? Not when I did the same, and Ginny did too. War makes you do stupid things sometimes I guess._

_Anyway, I will stop rambling on now and let you get back to your dragons. The kids and I are going ice skating in the Muggle world today so that I can meet up with an old friend._

_Love,_

_Hermione.”_

Hermione sealed the letter and walked to the window where Charlie’s owl was waiting patiently. She smiled and tied the letter to the owl's leg before giving it a little treat and stroking its head, “Have a safe journey Horus, watch out for that snowstorm that’s coming our way.”

The owl hooted appreciatively then flew out of the window. Hermione pulled the window shut behind her and shivered as she walked towards the staircase and called, “Rosie! Hugo! Come downstairs and get your coats and boots on!”

“Coming Mum!”

“Okay, Mummy!”

Hermione walked into the kitchen and cast her eyes towards the living room door thoughtfully as she contemplated inviting Bill. She was meeting with an old school friend, a Muggle who would know that Bill was a Weasley but nothing else. She bit her lip as she thought about what Harry had said the other day, about her playing with fire. She shouldn’t invite Bill but she wanted to…

“Bill?”

* * *

_“Bill,_

_How are you doing? I know I’m the little brother so I’m not supposed to worry about you, but I am. You just got divorced, are you falling apart or having a mental breakdown? I’ve asked Hermione too, and you know she won’t lie to me so there’s no use in you lying either._

_In response to the question you asked in your last letter, I’ll be gone at least another month, possibly another two months. We just need to see how things go. There are going to be some really difficult extractions to come yet. We’ve been lucky so far in that no one has suffered any serious injuries. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a few new burns and scratches but that’s part of the day job you know?_

_How is Hermione doing? And are the kids all doing okay? How did the girls take the news? You did tell them, didn’t you? You didn’t chicken out?_

_Speak soon,_

_Charlie.”_

Bill rolled his eyes as he read the letter, Charlie didn’t have much faith in him these days. It hadn’t always been that way, but that was how it seemed to be now. Things were strained, but they had been like that for a while…ever since Bill married Fleur.

He began to pen his reply, if he did it now he could send his owl off to Charlie with a reply before the snowstorm hit.

_“Char,_

_You’ve no faith in me, have you? Course I didn’t chicken out. Fleur and I told the girls and apparently they hate us now but they are teenagers so it’s all part and parcel of being a parent I guess. I’m sure that Hermione will tell you that I’m fine because I am. I’m not harbouring any secret anger or remorse, I’m just getting on with things because what else can we do when our world falls apart and we have to start back at square one?_

_You aren’t exactly putting my mind at rest with your whole flyboy attitude you know? Oh, I’ve only got a few burns and scars but all adds to the appeal of a hot dragon trainer, is that the effect you’re going for? Because I can see through your bullshit and it comes off to me like you’re scared. You know that the worst is yet to come, and you’re not 100% sure that you’ll make it through it regardless of the fact you’re one of the best in your field. I, on the other hand, have faith you can get through the next couple of months, as long as you know that you’ve got something to come back to, and you do. I hope you know that, because every time a letter from you comes in, her face lights up. When she spoke to you via floo for two seconds on Christmas, it brightened up her entire day and those kids, they love you to bits. They ask after Uncle Charlie all of the time, so don’t get all down and out on me now brother._

_And everyone is good. The kids are all doing well, I know more about Hermione’s kids than my own right now because mine won’t talk to me. But Rose is doing well in school, spending Christmas break doing homework because she’s just like her Mother. Hugo is a happy kid, easy enough to entertain really isn’t he? He asked me to take him to a Quidditch game when the season starts, apparently it was always Ron who took him and he misses Quidditch. Think we’re going to have to change his team preference though, can’t have another Chudley Cannons supporter in the family, can we?_

_Look after yourself and stay safe._

_Love,_

_Bill.”_

When he had finished writing the letter, he sighed. It had been really hard to write that letter telling Charlie that Hermione was his something to live for. It had been hard because the longer Bill spent with Hermione, the more he understood what Ron and Charlie had seen in her, the more his attraction towards her grew and the harder it became to conceal that.

“Bill?” She called from the kitchen.

Bill smiled at the inquisitive tone to her voice, he could tell that a question was coming, “Yep?” he called back.

“Can you ice skate?” Hermione’s voice asked.

Bill chuckled and sealed his letter to Charlie before getting to his feet and walking to the door, “Yes, I can ice skate. Why?”

“I’m taking the kids ice skating then meeting up with an old friend for a coffee,” Hermione explained from the kitchen where she was digging out hats, scarves and gloves for herself and the kids, “I wondered if you might want to tag along?”

Bill smiled broadly at her, “I would love to, just let me nip upstairs and send this letter off with Apep.”

“Wait a sec,” Hermione called, stopping him on the stairs, “Bill, it’s bugging me now. Why is _your_ owl named after a famous mythological dragon and Charlie’s owl named after an Egyptian God?”

Bill smiled and replied, “Because we got our owls at the same time. When Charlie’s apprenticeship became his official employment and I got my first long-term contracted role in Egypt, we decided to get owls so that we could keep in touch properly. Private owls were the only way to ensure that post wouldn’t be intercepted after all.”

Hermione smiled as she realised, “So you named them after the reason you got them,” she said softly, “For each other.”

Bill smiled too, “Exactly. It’s refreshing you know? How much you get it.”

Hermione shrugged, “Call me open-minded I guess,” she said as she called up the stairs, “Hurry up you two or we’re going to be late!”

“I’ll take that as my call to move my arse,” Bill said, winking at her and dashing up the stairs.

* * *

The kids had both been excited when they realised that Uncle Bill was coming ice skating too. Hermione informed Bill that they were going Muggle ice skating, which meant that they had to pay. Bill had scoffed and said, “Why pay when we could freeze any lake over?” Hermione had replied that they were meeting her friend afterwards, so it was only fair to go incognito as Muggles.

She knew that Bill didn’t seriously object, but like most wizards who had grown up exclusively in the magical world, he didn’t see the point of many Muggle things. They apparated into London all the same and took the kids into the ice rink at St. James Park.

They had a great time skating together. Rose went off on her own, but Hermione stayed close behind her just in case she did have a fall. Hugo clung to Bill, but Bill didn’t seem to mind one bit. Hermione found herself smiling at them every time she looked over.

Hermione skated next to them for a bit while Rose showed off by doing fancy moves on the ice.

“You two seem quite happy over here,” Hermione noted as Bill spun Hugo around but then corrected him before he could fall over.

“Do it again Uncle Bill!”

Bill laughed loudly, that barking laugh that sent shivers down Hermione’s spine, “Not right now Hugo. We don’t want you getting so dizzy that you fall over, do we?”

Hugo huffed a little bit, but Bill ignored him and smiled at Hermione, “I love my girls to bits, I really do. But there was always a part of me that wanted a little boy, so I do love playing with Hugo.”

“I’m glad to see him so happy,” Hermione said honestly as they reached the gate, “Come on Rosie, it’s time to go and see John!”

“Coming Mum!”

“John?” Bill asked as he and Hermione changed Rose and Hugo’s shoes for them.

“How stereotypical, you expected my old friend to be a woman?” Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Bill chortled, “You got me there, I did and that was very sexist of me, I’m sorry.”

Hermione just smiled, “John is my oldest friend. Older than Harry or Ron, he’s a Muggle who I met in my first class at school when I was 5 years old.”

“So you have known him pretty much all your life then,” Bill noted, “And you kept in touch, even while you were at Hogwarts?”

Hermione nodded as she helped Rose up, “Yeah, I saw him every summer when I came home then once we were both done with school, John went to university to become a doctor and I started working at the DMLE. We’ve always stayed in contact, but Ron hasn’t seen much of him because John could never stand Ron.”

Bill snorted, “Fair enough. Am I on trial then?”

Hermione shook her head as she led them through the cold park to a little coffee stand, “No, I think he’ll like you.”

Before Bill could ask why she would think that, Rose called, “John!”

The man in question, John, grinned and walked towards them, “Rosie!” He said, giving the little girl a big hug.

John was fairly short, with greying blonde hair and a penchant for knitted jumpers so it seemed.

“He doesn’t know I’m a Witch,” Hermione murmured to Bill while John was distracted.

“Look how big you’ve gotten, and look at you little Hugo!” John said, rustling the little boy's hair, “Not so small anymore.”

Hermione smiled as she drew John in for a hug, “Hey John, how have you been?”

“Oh I’ve been fine,” John said with a wave of his hand, “How have you been? It can’t have been an easy year, with all that happened.”

“It wasn’t,” Hermione admitted, “But I’m doing fine, we’re getting there.”

John smiled, “Good,” he said, noticing Bill for the first time.

“Oh sorry, I should have made introductions,” Hermione said sheepishly, “John, this is Bill Weasley. Bill, this is my lifelong friend John Watson.”

Bill smiled and held out his hand, “Pleasure to meet you, John, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

John shook Bill’s hand, “And I you. You are Ron’s eldest brother, aren’t you?”

“That’s right,” Bill replied, “Hermione has kindly taken me in these past few weeks while I find myself somewhere to go in the wake of my divorce.”

“Hence why I asked if he wanted to tag along,” Hermione explained.

“Of course,” John said with a smile.

“But I’ll let you two catch up,” Bill promised, “I’ll just order some coffee. Two hot chocolates for you little munchkins yeah? And a white coffee for you Hermione?”

“Yeah Uncle Bill!” The kids replied.

Hermione chuckled and nodded at Bill.

“And what will you have John?” Bill asked politely.

“Tea, black please,” John replied.

“Got it,” Bill said, “Come on guys, I’m going to need you to help me out,” he said to the kids, winking at Hermione before walking over to the stall.

John raised an eyebrow at Hermione, “Well he seems like an improvement on the last one.”

Hermione smacked him in the arm, “John!”

“Sorry,” John said with a sheepish smile, “Bit tactless considering that the last one died, I think Sherlock might be rubbing off on me.”

Hermione snorted, “Maybe, but you’re right he would be an improvement on Ron if I were dating him, which I am not.”

“But he’s in love with you,” John pointed out as if it were obvious.

Hermione scoffed, “No he isn’t. He’s attracted to me, he’s not in love with me.”

“Either way, he’s your dead Husbands brother Hermione,” John pointed out.

“You think that’s as complicated as it gets? Because it’s way worse,” Hermione muttered.

“How could it possibly be worse?” John asked incredulously.

“Do you remember Ron’s other brother, Charlie?” Hermione asked him.

“Yes, the one with the exotic job in Romania,” John remembered.

Hermione nodded, “He moved in right after Ron died, to help me out and because he had just come home from Romania and I sort of…well, I slept with him.”

John looked at her in disbelief.

“But he had to go to this mysterious island to work,” Hermione continued, “So although there are still feelings at play, it sort of all fizzled out and now…”

“Bill,” John finished.

Hermione nodded.

John cocked his head at Bill as he played a game in the queue with the kids, “I like him a lot more than I liked Ron.”

“So do I,” Hermione said with a nervous laugh, “But my life is just a mess right now while I’m trying to work things out. How about you? How are things?”

“Good,” John replied with a dry smile, “Still living with Sherlock.”

“Still denying that you’re in love with him?” Hermione quipped as they sat down on a bench together.

“Yeah,” John replied, glaring sideways at her.

Hermione smirked, “Alright then. I’m just saying, that one time he tagged along with you to one of our catch-ups I sensed a lot of sexual tension-”

“No, you just sensed tension and interpreted it wrongly,” John joked, “He’s my friend, and once I got to know his quirks, I learned how to happily co-inhabit with him but that’s all it is.”

“If you say so,” Hermione said, looking at him knowingly.

Before John could object any further, Bill and the kids came back with coffee.

“Shall we walk to the play park?” Hermione asked, accepting her coffee gratefully.

The others nodded their agreement and they all set off at a saunter to the playpark a few hundred yards away.

“So Hermione never actually told me what it is that you do John,” Bill said conversationally.

“I trained as a Doctor,” John answered.

“Hasn’t practised since the war though,” Hermione said, linking her arm through Johns.

“What war would that have been?” Bill asked, looking like a fish out of water.

“The war in Afghanistan,” Hermione replied quickly, “I know you’ve been living abroad Bill, but I didn’t think you were that out of touch.”

“Sorry,” Bill said sheepishly, “How long did you serve for John?”

“Three years,” John replied, “I got shot so I was discharged, mostly because I developed a psychosomatic limp and a tremor.”

“Which Sherlock cured you of the moment he met you,” Hermione pointed out.

“Sherlock?” Bill questioned, “Interesting name.”

“Yeah, God knows what his Mum was thinking,” John said with a shake of his head, “His brother’s called Mycroft.”

“Here was me thinking my best mate from school had a weird name,” Bill snorted.

“What was he called?” John asked curiously.

“Heathcote,” Bill replied.

“That is certainly an unusual one,” John agreed, “My parents didn’t have much of an imagination.”

“At least they didn’t name you for the play you were conceived after,” Hermione said with a shake of her head.

Bill barked out a laugh, “That’s how you were named?”

Hermione nodded as John chuckled, “Yep. They had been trying to have a baby for years and had pretty much given up. Then they went to see ‘The Winter’s Tale’ one Christmas, and afterwards, one thing led to another,” Hermione made a face, “So when I was born 9 months later, they decided to give me the same name as a character from the play.”

“Thank God she wasn’t a boy or they’d have named her Leontes,” John joked.

Bill laughed loudly at that, “My Mum likes traditional names, as you can tell by how boring all of our names are, William, Charles, Percy, Fred, George, Ronald and Ginevra.”

“Bill’s daughters don’t have quite such traditional names,” Hermione said with a chuckle.

Bill rolled his eyes at that, “Tell me about it.”

“You have kids too Bill?” John asked with interest.

“Yeah,” Bill said with an easy smile, “My ex-wife was French so she insisted on giving our daughters French names so I have a Victoire and a Dominique.”

“But Bill has always hated their French names so he calls them Victoria and Minnie,” Hermione chuckled.

John laughed and then his phone vibrated in his pocket.

“Sorry, it will be Sherlock,” John said, reading the message.

_“221b now.”_

“You can go if you need to,” Hermione said, “It might be important.”

“It won’t be,” John said with a roll of his eyes, “We’ll be out of tea or milk which is like the world is ending for Sherlock.”

“Is Sherlock your partner?” Bill asked curiously.

“No, no, no,” John replied quickly, “He is my co-worker, of sorts. We solve crimes together, well…he solves crimes and I blog about it.”

“Right,” Bill said, “So Sherlock is a detective?”

“He’s a private investigator, although he does occasionally work with the police,” John explained, “And it really is on the odd occasion because he’s impossible to work with.”

“Yet here you are, still working and living with him two years later,” Hermione said, smirking at her old friend.

John didn’t even bother rolling his eyes at her comment this time, then his phone vibrated again.

“He’s bloody impossible sometimes,” John said as he glanced at the message.

_“What part of now do you not understand?”_

“Is it important?” Hermione prodded.

“Probably not,” John replied, although he didn’t even bother shoving his phone back in his pocket this time, because he knew the texts wouldn’t stop there, “Anyway Bill, what is it that you do for a job these days? Hermione said you worked in Egypt for a while?”

Bill nodded, “I was an Archaeologist out there, studied the tombs and the pyramids mostly. Then I came home and now I work in a museum.”

“Oh, what museum do you work in?” John asked curiously.

Before Bill could reply, John received another text.

_“John. Do you have better things to do?”_

“I’m going to kill him,” John muttered as he texted back, “ _Yes, I told you I was meeting Hermione today.”_

“Sorry about this,” He added, for the sake of Hermione and Bill.

“It’s fine,” Bill said, while Hermione shot John knowing looks. They reached the play park and the kids ran off to play a game together, leaving the three adults by the benches.

_“Where are you? I need you now.”_

John sighed, _“St. James Park.”_

“So what’s the big emergency?” Hermione asked when John put his phone away.

“God knows, but I expect you’ll find out in about 20 minutes,” John muttered as he sat down on the bench.

“Why 20 minutes?” Bill queried.

“Because that’s how long it will take Sherlock to hail down a cab and get here,” John said in a long-suffering way, “But anyway, enough about that. I wanted to ask about you, Hermione. How is work going?”

“Work is fine,” Hermione laughed, “I’m a lawyer, I very much doubt that I will ever be out of work. Even if I do keep pissing my boss off.”

“You have a brilliant mind, I doubt you will ever be out of a job either,” John assured her with a smile, “The kids seem to be doing okay, all things considered.”

“They are adjusting well,” Hermione admitted, “But there are times when it shows through that they miss their Dad. I think between the two of us and Charlie, we’ve done a good job of keeping them occupied though.”

Bill nodded, “They are upset, but they are just pushing through. We all are.”

“I can see that,” John said, his eyes flitting between the two of them momentarily.

“Uncle Bill! Uncle Bill!”

Bill drew his eyes away from Hermione to look over at the play park.

“I can’t reach the bars!” Hugo called.

Bill chuckled and got to his feet, “I better go and help him out.”

Hermione smiled at his retreating form, and John asked, “Does Bill know that you slept with Charlie?”

“Yeah…” Hermione mused, “As I said, it’s complicated. Bill knows and he’s okay with it, he and Charlie are sort of used to sharing everything.”

John raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you in some weird three-way relationship with them both?”

Hermione scoffed, “No! I slept with Charlie but then he left, and Bill and I are just…friends.”

“At the moment,” John said, with a pointed look.

“Yes, at the moment,” Hermione sighed.

“Can I give you a wise word of advice?” John asked as they both watched Bill help Hugo cross the monkey bars.

Hermione simply nodded.

“My Mum had an affair,” John admitted, “That summer that I spent every day at your house, remember?”

Hermione thought back to that summer, the summer after her first year at Hogwarts. John had been upset and clingy, Hermione had put it down to her being gone for an entire year.

“She had an affair and Harriet was rebelling, acting out because of it,” John said quietly, “And I just wanted to escape so I spent all summer with you. But I remember something my Aunt said to her one night when I was lying in bed. She said that you can love two people at the same time, but never at the same level.”

“Quite so,” A new voice said.

John rolled his eyes, “How did you manage to make a 20 minute trip across London take 10 minutes, Sherlock?”

Sherlock just winked at John and sat down on Hermione’s other side, “John’s Aunt is quite right. However, it is also imperative to know that you can never love two people the same. Every relationship between two people is different. Therefore it is simply impossible to love two people the same. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.”

As Hermione let that massively helpful piece of advice sink in, John blurted out, “Where the hell did that come from? You’re the worst person I know when it comes to relationship advice!”

Sherlock grinned, “One of Mrs Hudson’s little gems. Now can you get off this bench and get in my taxi? Someone has been murdered, there is no time for socialising.”

John perked up a little at this as Bill re-joined them, “Has someone actually been murdered or are you just saying that to get me in the taxi?”

“Technically no one has been murdered yet, according to Lestrade,” Sherlock said, rolling his eyes casually, “But if we look at this statistically, our victim was kidnapped late last night and is female so there is a 97.5% chance that she’s dead.”

“That’s a very specific number,” Bill remarked.

Sherlock looked over at him, “Who are you?”

“Sorry, he has no social niceties,” John said.

Bill didn’t seem to mind, “I’m Bill Weasley.”

Sherlock’s eyebrows quirked up. He looked over at Hermione, “What an upgrade on the last Weasley I met.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Yeah thank you for that Sherlock,” she said while John chuckled.

“I better go,” John said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek, “See you sometime next year probably.”

“Probably,” Hermione laughed as she hugged him tightly, “Little tip for you, don’t hold back because you never know when someone you love might be taken from you,” she whispered in his ear before drawing back.

He nodded at her, although his cheeks were a little pink.

“Alright, goodbyes are over, chop-chop John,” Sherlock said, grabbing his hand, “We have a kidnapper to catch!”

Bill shook his head in amusement as the two men dashed out of the park together, “Are you honestly telling me that those two aren’t together?”

“Not yet anyway,” Hermione laughed as Bill took Johns place on the bench and they watched the kids playing together.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	14. Falling Like I'll Never Land

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> Never Land by Eli Young Band.
> 
> Some of the scenes in this chapter are based on lyrics of a song called "Brothers" by Dean Brody.

“So, John and Sherlock are an interesting pair,” Bill said that evening, as he and Hermione relaxed together in the living room.

Hermione looked up from the book that she was reading and laughed, “Yes, John is convinced that he isn’t gay but it’s clear to anyone with eyes that he’s in love with Sherlock.”

“Ah well…” Bill mused, “You can love a guy without being gay.”

Hermione put her glass of wine down and looked at Bill properly for a moment. He was frowning and staring into the fire as if his thoughts were far away.

“You and Charlie?” Hermione guessed,

Bill nodded, “Charlie’s been with guys, girls, you name it. But apart from Charlie, I’m straight. The one person who knew about our relationship was Dora Tonks and she used to always joke that I was Charlie-sexual.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “It makes sense that Tonks understood your relationship with Charlie,” she said as she moved across the room to sit next to him on the sofa.

“What makes you say that?” Bill asked, glancing at her curiously.

“Oh you know, just that she understood how complicated relationships like that can be,” Hermione shrugged, “She knew all about Sirius and Remus, and she understood that perfectly.”

“Of course,” Bill realised, “I never knew for sure, but I did always suspect.”

Hermione nodded and shivered as she settled down next to him. Bill smiled softly and pulled the blanket that was covering his legs over them both. Hermione instinctively moved closer to him as he did so.

She rested against him, and he had to contain himself because he found her smell intoxicating, and all he wanted to do was kiss her. Little did he know that she was breathing in his musky scent at the same time.

“Bill,” Hermione murmured from his side.

“Yeah?” Bill replied.

“I’m sorry if this is something that you don’t want to discuss but it’s been tugging at me for a while now and my curiosity is starting to get the better of me,” Hermione admitted sheepishly.

“You want to know how it all started, with Char and me?” Bill guessed.

Hermione nodded, “Do you mind talking about it?”

“Of course not, but I can only tell you one side of the story,” Bill admitted, “I’m sure Char remembers it differently.”

“Maybe I’ll ask him for his side of the story sometime then,” Hermione reasoned.

Bill leant back against the sofa and looked up at the roof as he wondered how far back he ought to go to start the story, “Well…I suppose Charlie and I were always closer to each other than the rest of our brothers. We were as thick as thieves when we were kids, and Charlie cried like a baby the night before I went to Hogwarts. He slept in my bed that night because he didn’t want me to go…”

Hermione reached for his hand under the blanket.

Bill squeezed it and continued with his story, “That first year I spent at Hogwarts was kind of lonely. I made friends but Charlie was my best friend and I missed him. We had a great summer together then I went back to Hogwarts. When Charlie was eventually old enough to come too, I was going into third year and of course, he was sorted into Gryffindor as well. We had the same friend group, even though we were a couple of years apart. As soon as Charlie started second year, he made the Quidditch team so we always had that in common too. We were pretty much inseparable.”

“Like twins,” Hermione mused.

“Yeah…” Bill said thoughtfully, “I suppose we were. We went through school, I had girlfriends, Charlie had boyfriends and that was that.”

“So what changed?” Hermione queried.

“Egypt,” Bill admitted, “In my last year at school, it stopped being a dream. You know, I had talked to Charlie about it for years, late at night I’d spill my hopes and dreams and he would tell me that I would get everything that I wanted. But when Egypt became a reality, things started to change. Charlie was pretty cold to me that summer because he didn’t want me to go and I was pissed at him because I just wanted him to be happy for me.”

Hermione listened intently as Bill continued, “Either way, it got to the morning that I was leaving and I didn’t even think Charlie was going to show his face to say goodbye. I said goodbye to everyone else, Percy barely looked up from his book, the twins made a joke of it. Ron and Gin both cried, but there was no sign of Charlie. I was just about to leave when he finally stopped being a coward…”

_“Right then, I had better get going. I need to be at the international apparition centre for 9 am.”_

_“What about Charlie? He hasn’t said goodbye,” Molly said tearfully._

_Bill sighed, “He won’t say goodbye Mum. He’s angry at me for leaving, and you know how Char is, probably best if he doesn’t come out. He’ll either get upset or swing at me.”_

_“He will write, once he comes around,” Arthur assured Bill._

_Bill nodded and kissed his mother on the cheek, “I promise to write, all of the time,” he said as he left the house and headed down the garden path. He walked slowly, just in case Charlie changed his mind, and when he reached the gate he turned around to look at the backdoor._

_Just as he did so, Charlie hurtled out towards him and called, “Bill!”_

_Bill smiled broadly at Charlie._

_“Char,” He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, “You did decide to see me off in the end.”_

_Charlie shook his head and lowered his voice, “No I didn’t. I came out here to tell you that you need to come back, do you hear me?”_

_Bill’s face fell, “Come on Charlie, not this again-”_

_“No Bill,” Charlie said, his voice shook, “I’ll do anything you want. You can have the room to yourself. I know you’re always banging on about personal space so I can sleep in the lounge, I don’t care.”_

_Bill smiled softly, but Charlie didn’t let him get a word in edgeways, “I’ll clean your room, I’ll polish your broom, I’ll do all your chores. I’ll do anything as long as you don’t go.”_

_Bill shook his head and put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, “But I’ve got to go Char. Things are happening out there, big things. A war is coming and if I don’t go and do my duty, then I’m not protecting you from that, am I?”_

_“You don’t need to protect me from anything,” Charlie said tearfully._

_“I do though,” Bill said, squeezing Charlie’s shoulder, “Because that’s what brothers are for.”_

“And I didn’t see him for a long time after that,” Bill said, his voice a little shaky, “An entire year actually.”

“A whole year? You didn’t come back for Christmas?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“I couldn’t get away from Egypt,” Bill admitted, “Charlie and I wrote to each other all of the time. He told me all about school, I told him all about Egypt. I kept saying that he could come and visit me when he finished school. I realised that year, that there was something different between Charlie and me, and that freaked me out. I knew I shouldn’t have been missing him as much as I was, but it was like a part of me was missing that year and no matter how many flings or drunken nights out I had, I couldn’t shake that.”

Bill paused and took a deep breath, he looked up at the ceiling once more, “Anyway, my internship was up in July so I came home for the summer while I looked for a new employer to contract me for the next year. When I got home, I think I gave Char a shock. I had left with relatively short hair and a fairly ordinary dress sense, minus my penchant for muggle rock band shirts, thanks to Dora.”

Hermione laughed loudly, “God, and you came back as this hot badass curse breaker?”

Bill grinned at her, “You think I’m a hot badass curse breaker?”

Hermione laughed lightly and looked up at Bill, “For Godric’s sake Bill, of course you’re a hot badass curse breaker. I mean do you not remember how much of a fool I made of myself when I met you and Charlie for the first time?”

Bill grinned as he thought back, “Oh yes…I do remember that.”

_“Come on Hermione,” Ron said as he dragged her through the backdoor, “You’ve not met Bill or Charlie yet and they’re both back for the Quidditch World Cup.”_

_Hermione rolled her eyes, “Honestly Ronald, I do not understand why everyone is making such a big deal of it. It’s just a Quidditch game.”_

_“Just a Quidditch game?” A new voice asked in disbelief, “Just a Quidditch game? Good Godric Ron, this girl can’t be your best friend!”_

_Hermione crossed her arms, “I suppose you must be Charlie then?”_

_Charlie grinned broadly at her, his face was tanned and covered in freckles. He leant against the kitchen table and retorted with, “And I suppose you must be Hermione Granger. You’re right Ron, she is bossy.”_

_Hermione made a face, “Quidditch isn’t that important you know? It’s just a sport.”_

_“It is a fantastic sport, but you are quite right, it isn’t the most important thing in life,” Another new voice said._

_Hermione turned towards the voice and stared in shock at the man before her. She knew that Bill was a curse breaker who worked in Egypt, but she had not expected him to look the way that he did. He was leaning in the doorway of the kitchen wearing dragonhide boots, tight skinny jeans and a black tank top with the Weird Sisters logo on it. To top it all off, his hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail, and he wore an earring with a fang dangling from it._

_“I’m Bill by the way,” He said, his voice smooth and his smile easy, “Ron’s oldest and most mature brother.”_

_Charlie snorted, “He thinks he’s a Casanova because he works in Egypt now.”_

_Hermione’s cheeks flushed, how could she be crushing on Ron’s oldest brother? It was very wrong, he was a lot older than her but he was just so hot._

_Bill shot Charlie an amused look and turned back to Hermione, “Ignore Charlie, he thinks Quidditch and dragons are all that matter in life.”_

_“Dragons do matter,” Charlie pointed out._

_Hermione nodded in agreement, “And if wizards aren’t careful, they will wipe them out before they know it.”_

_Bill rolled his eyes, “Oh here we go.”_

_“Exactly!” Charlie agreed, “See that’s the thing about most witches and wizards, they don’t realise how valuable dragons are but when they can’t use their body parts for potions anymore or their heartstrings to make wands, then they will realise how important dragons were.”_

_“But by then it will be too late,” Hermione said, sighing sadly._

_Charlie smiled at her, “I take it all back, Quidditch hater or not, I like you.”_

_Hermione’s cheeks flushed and Bill laughed as he slapped Charlie on the back, “Easy Charlie, you don’t want Ronnikons girlfriend to crush on you.”_

_Ron’s ears turned bright red, “She’s not my girlfriend,” he muttered._

_Hermione nodded as she tried to hide her blush, then she very quickly made an excuse to leave the room._

“So which one of us did you have a crush on?” Bill mused, “Me or Charlie?”

Hermione cleared her throat and replied, “If you want an honest answer, both of you. Physically, you. But because he loved dragons as much as I did, Charlie.”

Bill chuckled lightly, “I can understand that.”

“Anyway, tell me the rest of the story please,” Hermione said, settling into Bill’s side again.

Bill smiled at the familiar contact and said, “Alright. Well when I walked in, I think Charlie got a shock. He was white as a sheet, then he said he wasn’t feeling well and he went straight to our room, skipped dinner and everything. I wanted nothing more than to get away to talk to him, but everyone else wanted to talk to me and ask me questions so it was late by the time I got in. He was pretending to be asleep but I knew he was awake so I sat down on the edge of the bed to talk to him…”

_“I know you’re awake Char and I know I upset you by leaving, but I missed you like crazy, please don’t spend this whole summer ignoring me.”_

_Charlie swallowed hard and sat up. He looked at Bill, really looked at him, for a long moment. Bill looked back, and they both seemed to come to the same realization. They were studying the changes in each other._

_All of a sudden, Charlie leant forward and closed the gap between them, capturing Bill’s lips in a chaste kiss. He had no idea how Bill would react, they both knew that it was wrong, they were **brothers** after all. There was every chance that Bill would pull back and curse the hell out of Charlie._

_But Bill didn’t pull back, instead he deepened the kiss. At this, the tension in Charlie’s body ebbed away. His breath caught as he wrapped his hands around Bill’s neck so that he could pull him closer. Bill chuckled under his breath as he lost his grip and slipped slightly. It was a happy accident because, with Bill so close to Charlie, they could both feel the other's arousal, they knew that neither of them would reject the other._

_That scared Bill at first. Charlie saw it flash in his eyes before he verbalized it with a murmured, “Char, you’re not even 17 yet.”_

_“I don’t care,” Charlie muttered back._

_Bill groaned, “Charlie, this is wrong enough. I’m not going to take advantage of you when you’re upset.”_

_“I’ve missed you for a year Bill,” Charlie said, his eyes burning, “A long, fucking awful year. You’re not taking advantage of me.”_

_Bill looked down at Charlie hesitantly, “But Char-”_

_“Yeah it’s wrong,” Charlie agreed, “But so what? It’s not like you’re going to tell anyone, is it?”_

_Somehow the joke eased the tension, Bill laughed and kissed Charlie again._

“So that was how it started,” Bill admitted with a frown, “We stole as many moments as we could that summer but that was all it was, all it could ever be. Then the summer ended and I had to go back to Egypt with the new employer who had contracted me and Char had to finish school.”

“Did you not speak all year again?” Hermione asked.

“No, I came home for Christmas that year,” Bill remembered, “Stole a few more moments with Charlie while I was at it, then he went back to school. That was the year he finally worked out what he wanted to do with his life and we wrote to each other all year, just like we always had. My contract finished in Egypt again and I planned on going home to spend the summer with the family while I waited it out to see where the future would take me. When I got home, I found out that Charlie wasn’t there because he had gotten an apprenticeship on a dragon reserve in Romania.”

“He didn’t even tell you?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Bill shook his head, “I found out later on it was because he didn’t want to face another goodbye so he left before I could get back. But I had come home that summer _for_ Charlie so I didn’t let him get away with it that easily…”

_“Hello, brother.”_

_Charlie froze when he walked into his cabin and saw his brother leaning against the kitchen counter._

_“Bill,” He said stupidly._

_Bill crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow at Charlie, “Did you honestly think I would let my little brother run away to Romania without saying goodbye?”_

_Charlie cleared his throat and rolled his eyes, “I didn’t run away. I came here for the same reason that you went to Egypt, to get out of Britain and do something different for a while.”_

_“To chase adventure,” Bill said, his eyes sparkling, “And I’m so goddamn proud of you for that Char, but I’m not happy that you ruined the summer that I had planned for us.”_

_Charlie’s throat felt incredibly dry, “What’s the use anyway Bill? We would have had to go our separate ways at the end of it, why make that inevitable goodbye hurt all the more?”_

_Bill shrugged, “I can take the painful goodbye, the good memories keep me going all year. Which was why I figured, spending the summer at home without you was the dullest thing I could imagine, so I volunteered to help out here this summer.”_

_Charlie’s eyes widened, “No Bill, you can’t stay here. This is a small place…they…they’ll find out.”_

_“Char, you live in a cabin in the middle of a Romanian forest and I know all of the most complicated privacy charms you could imagine,” Bill said, his lips quirking into a smirk, “Nobody would know anything. They would just know that you have a very protective older brother who loves you enough to follow you out here and keep an eye on you.”_

_His eyes caught Charlie’s on that last sentence and their lips were crashing together before Charlie could even form words. Bill murmured some of those privacy charms in between kisses as he shoved Charlie up against the wall and pressed his hardness against him, and Charlie knew then that it was going to be the start of a very good summer._

“It was the best summer of my life,” Bill reminisced fondly, “It was a summer full of dragons, adventure and Charlie. By day we would banter and act like typical brothers, we would work hard and go home stinking of sweat, only to shower and put up privacy charms then barely get any sleep.”

Hermione sighed as she leant against Bill, “You really love him, don’t you?”

Bill sighed softly, “Yeah Hermione, I do.”

Hermione yawned, “What happened, after that summer?”

“Charlie got offered the job at the reserve permanently and I was offered my first permanent role in Egypt,” Bill replied, “That was when we got the owls so we could stay in contact and it was also the hardest goodbye of them all because we both knew it was the last summer we would have together. We might get stolen moments here and there, but we knew that was all that they could be.”

Hermione sat up a little, “So that was it?”

Bill nodded, “There were Christmases, birthdays, funerals…we always wondered if the others noticed that Charlie and I tended to disappear together at every family event but if they did, they never said anything about it. Then the war hotted up, so I was off doing missions for Dumbledore and I hardly saw Charlie.”

“Was he angry when you married Fleur?”

Bill nodded, staring at the dying embers of the fire, “When Greyback got me, Charlie and Fleur were both there throughout my recovery. During that time I wasn’t faithful to Fleur but I told myself I had to do the right thing, so I pushed Charlie away and married Fleur. You know what Charlie’s temper is like, he was angry and he held a grudge for a long time.”

“I don’t blame him,” Hermione admitted.

“No, in hindsight, I don’t either,” Bill agreed.

“And did you cheat on Fleur a lot?” Hermione asked. This question was asked with more trepidation than the rest because she was worried about the answer.

Bill shook his head, “No after that period I just told you about, there were two occasions when I strayed from Fleur. The first time was when Fred died and I realised with this terror that gripped me that it could have been Charlie and then…for a similar reason, after Ron died.”

Hermione nodded, letting out a breath, “So it’s always been intense between the two of you.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Bill said, laughing weakly.

Hermione looked over at Bill and cocked her head, “Do you want to know what I think, having heard that?”

Bill caught her eye, “Yes, I do actually.”

“I think you and Charlie can’t live without each other,” Hermione said honestly, “And until you find someone who understands that, you will never be able to have serious relationships that can actually function.”

Bill nodded slowly, “Yeah…I think you’re spot on there.”

Hermione yawned again.

“Go to bed Hermione, it's after midnight,” Bill said gently.

“I know, but I was enjoying the story,” Hermione said, smiling lightly at Bill, “Thank you, for trusting me enough to tell me it.”

“Thank you, for understanding enough to listen to it,” Bill remarked in response.

Hermione just laughed lightly, “Goodnight Bill.”

“Goodnight Hermione,” Bill said, giving her one of his infamous easy smiles

* * *

“Hermione, you coming to the Burrow for New Year?” Bill called from the kitchen.

“No, I’m spending it with friends!” Hermione called back.

“Nah Mum, she has plans,” Hermione heard Bill saying. She could hear Molly’s voice but not what she was saying, “I know what you’re saying Mum, but Christmas was hard enough for her. Give her time to heal.”

Molly spoke again, then Bill laughed, “Course I’ll be there. Love you too, see you then.”

Hermione heard the familiar whir of the floo and figured that she was safe to walk into the kitchen. Bill glanced over at her, “She’s not annoyed, don’t worry.”

Hermione sighed, “Good. I know we always spend New Year at the Burrow but Daphne, Susan and I were planning on spending it together this year and with all that’s going on with Daphne right now, I think she needs that.”

“You’re right, and you’re being a good friend,” Bill said, smiling at her, “Where are you heading?”

“Just to the Forest of Dean,” Hermione replied, “We’re renting a place there with enough space for the three of us and the kids. I’ll only be gone for New Year's Eve and New Years Day, then I need to go back to work, unfortunately.”

“You and me both,” Bill yawned, “You know, I’m thinking about a career change?”

“Are you?” Hermione asked with interest.

Bill nodded thoughtfully and sipped his coffee. Hermione set about making her coffee, wondering if that was the end of the conversation, but it wasn’t.

“Now that Fleur’s not an obstacle, I feel the need for a little bit of danger again,” Bill admitted, “I could never move back to Egypt of course, too much to lose in the UK now and I’m too old to be a serious curse breaker these days, but I think I’d like to try consulting.”

“Too old?” Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow at him, “You’re only 42.”

“Only?” Bill laughed.

Hermione smiled slightly as she looked at him a little more intensely than usual, “Yes _only_. You still look great, so what if you have a few more lines? You still have all of your hair and all of your teeth, as my Dad would say, that’s one hell of an achievement.”

Bill laughed at that, “I think I would have liked your Dad.”

“I think so too,” Hermione said, smiling fondly at him, “So yes your reflexes probably aren’t what they used to be which would make full-time curse-breaking dangerous, but you are still the hot, badass curse breaker I had a crush on when I was 14.”

Bill grinned over at her, “Godric, you make me feel so bad for wanting you, Hermione. You were _14_ when we first met, _14_.”

Hermione smirked over at him as she walked towards the staircase, “Cradle snatcher,” She joked over her shoulder before shouting, “Rose! Hugo! Breakfast time!”

* * *

“How do you think she’s doing?”

“She’ll be feeling conflicted.”

“I get that, but do you think that she will still want to come?” Hermione asked Susan in a whisper.

“Of course I still want to come. I’m not going to let a little thing like the death of a close family member stop me from enjoying New Year with my best friends now, am I?”

Hermione smiled weakly at the blonde woman who had just arrived, “Hey Daph, how are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” Daphne said, although the others could see through the façade, “Astoria is dead, what more can I do about it?”

“You’ll feel better once they know who did it though, won’t you?” Susan asked.

Daphne shrugged, “I’ll feel better if they prove it’s not suicide because right now, I feel like I killed her.”

“Harry is sure that there’s more to it than that,” Hermione promised Daphne, “I spoke to him this morning and he said he was interviewing a few people to try and work out what Astoria’s mental state was like during the week before her death so hopefully that will shed light on things.”

“Hopefully,” Daphne agreed, changing the subject as fast as she could, “Where are the kids? I brought their Christmas gifts.”

“They are playing out the back,” Hermione replied.

“It’s some sort of game about dragons and hunters,” Susan laughed.

Daphne smiled and headed in that direction while Hermione and Susan shared a slightly concerned look.

* * *

As midnight approached that night, the kids began to get tired so Hermione put them to bed. The clock ticked past 11.30 pm and the women, who were well into their third bottle of wine now, got talking about Hermione’s situation with the Weasley brothers.

“So…is Bill still living with you?” Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

“Yes, he is,” Hermione replied neutrally.

“And?” Susan asked eagerly.

“And what?” Hermione scoffed, “Nothing has happened.”

“Nothing?” Susan asked in disbelief.

“Nothing of consequence,” Hermione answered, “We’ve been talking a lot and there were a few little moments…I mean we kissed on Christmas Day…”

“And that’s nothing of consequence?” Daphne snorted.

“Does this mean that Charlie’s chucked for his older brother?” Susan joked.

Hermione sighed and sipped her wine, “It’s more complicated than that. I’ve been writing to Charlie since he left, once a week religiously but Bill and I are getting closer too. Harry is right, I’m playing with fire here.”

“Yeah,” Susan agreed, “I mean, they are brothers and you’re flirting with _both_ of them? That’s not going to end well.”

“Well, that depends on how strong the relationship between the two of them is,” Daphne said, shrugging as she sipped her wine, “Brothers can be very good at sharing.”

Hermione flushed at the thoughts that sentence invoked in her mind. Susan laughed and said, “Come on Daph, this is _Hermione_ we’re talking about. She’s hardly the type to be in a three-way relationship.”

Daphne just shot Hermione a knowing look over the top of her wine glass.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink as she got to her feet and said, “What are we all drinking for the bells then?”

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	15. You and Tequila Make Me Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I won't lie, the Explicit rating on this fanfic is purely for the last three chapters...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> You and Tequila by Kenny Chesney

For the first time in a long time, Hermione didn’t feel particularly hung-over on New Years Day, probably because she hadn’t been drinking punch that was usually heavily spiked by George and Charlie.

The kids had a long lie, then they all went for a walk in the frosty forest after breakfast. It was the most relaxed New Years Day that Hermione could remember, and it was a refreshing change after the year she had just gone through.

But it couldn’t last forever, and on the morning of the 2nd of January, it was back to life as normal.

“Rosie!” Hermione called as she pulled on her boots, “Get down here.”

Bill stepped into the kitchen and adjusted his tie, “Guess you don’t have time for coffee?” he joked.

Hermione shook her head, “I’ll get some at the Ministry. Hugo, eat your cereal please.”

“But I don’t like cereal anymore Mummy, I want a jam sandwich,” Hugo complained.

“I’ll get it,” Bill said before Hermione could lose her temper.

Hermione sighed, “Thanks Bill,” she said, walking over to the stairs, “Rose! If you don’t get down here right now, you won’t be getting any breakfast.”

Rose dashed down the stairs and Hermione looked at her in disbelief, “What are you wearing?”

“I’m expressing my individuality just like Uncle Charlie showed me,” Rose objected, sitting down at the table where her toast awaited her.

Bill bit his lip to hide his amused grin. Rose was wearing odd socks and her blazer was adorned with pins of dragons.

“Yes Rose,” Hermione said through gritted teeth, “But we discussed how you must express your individuality while staying within the constraints of school uniform.”

Before Rose could object, Hermione transfigured her odd socks into matching white school socks, “You can keep the pins.”

“Fine,” Rose huffed, crossing her arms, “But I liked it better when Uncle Charlie took us to school.”

“Well Uncle Charlie is very busy doing an incredibly important job right now,” Hermione said, and it was clear to Bill that she wholeheartedly believed that.

He smiled a little sadly and put Hugo’s toast down in front of him, “There you are little man.”

“Thanks, Uncle Bill,” Hugo said gratefully.

Bill pulled his coat on and murmured to Hermione, “I get it now.”

Hermione frowned and turned around to look at him, “What do you mean?” she asked in an undertone.

“I get why I don’t stand a chance next to Charlie,” Bill replied, not bitterly or angrily, if anything just sadly. He smiled at her then waved to the kids, “See you guys later!” he called as he swept out of the kitchen.

Hermione frowned at those words in his wake. She felt very conflicted towards both of them, so she wasn’t entirely sure what made Bill feel that way. But she couldn’t contemplate on it for long anyway, because they were already running late for school which meant that Hermione would also be late for work.

* * *

Surely enough, when Hermione dashed into her office with pink cheeks and sweat lining her brow, she was five minutes late.

And of course on this occasion when she was less than dignified, was her office empty? Well, of course, it wasn’t.

Susan was sitting on the sofa looking vaguely amused, and Harry was sitting _on_ her desk, grinning at her, “Tough first day back already?”

“Oh shut up, you clearly didn’t have to take the kids to school today,” Hermione shot back at Harry as she freshened herself up with glamour charms.

“Guilty, it’s Gin’s day off,” Harry chortled, “But I come here bearing good news so if you could just pop that door shut then put up a precautionary silencing ward, I will begin.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, it was rare that he went all professional on her. It usually meant that it was something big, something serious. So Hermione shut the door, put up the silencing ward then looked at Harry expectantly.

“Astoria Malfoy did not kill herself,” Harry said confidently, “I worked this out last night while I was talking to Ginny about Ron.”

Hermione frowned, “Go on…”

“Well we were talking about how Ron was always a very jealous person,” Harry explained, “He always wanted what his brothers had, he always felt like he was in my shadow and he always thought that you, the love of his life, would fall in love with me instead.”

Hermione nodded, “And he was very jealous when we were on the run together during the war, I know.”

“Exactly,” Harry agreed, “But anyway, while we were chatting it hit me. If Daphne is the ‘you’ in this situation and Draco is the ‘me’ then surely enough there must have been a Ron, right?”

Hermione’s frown deepened, “Harry, I’m not following you.”

“I think I am,” Susan said, cocking her head at Harry, “So who is the jealous wannabe boyfriend of Daphne’s in this little fairytale you’ve concocted? Because you do realise that nothing will stand up in court without hard evidence?”

“Of course I do,” Harry scoffed, “And in answer to your question, the ‘Ron’ is a man by the name of Theodore Nott. He was always tagging around with them in school, this ratty looking, irritating pain in the arse. So I did some digging and it turns out that he was in love with Daphne, and still is according to my sources.”

“What sources did you talk to in the middle of the night last night?” Susan asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry.

“Draco mostly, I went to the Manor and he was awake,” Harry said with a shrug, “He kept refilling the coffee pot and telling me more about their school days which filled in all of the blanks. Once I had Theodore nailed as a suspect, I decided I had enough circumstantial evidence to arrest him.”

“And did he give you anything?” Hermione asked hopefully.

Harry grinned, “A full confession, and when we searched his house early this morning we found traces of blood matching Astoria’s and her DNA flagged up in hairs we found on his robes. Turns out that Theodore Nott is a typical Slytherin, in other words, a total coward who wet himself at the thought of a Dementors kiss.”

“Got him,” Susan said, grinning at Harry, “Great work Harry, there’s no way a jury can dispute that!”

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, “So he killed Astoria because he was in love with Daphne? How does that work exactly?”

“He wasn’t trying to frame Daphne,” Harry explained, “He figured most of the time in cases like this, the Husband is arrested and he isn’t wrong.”

“He wanted to frame Draco so that he could sweep in and have Daphne to himself,” Hermione realised with a nod.

Harry nodded too, “So I’m processing the paperwork today and we’re going to fast track this bastards trial. If I can get the paperwork signed and into Morton by close of play today, the trial will be on Friday.”

“Alright, that gives us plenty of time to prepare for it,” Hermione said, glancing to Susan who nodded too.

“And the reason I dropped in here to tell you both is because I think this news might be better coming from you rather than me,” Harry added.

“Definitely, Daphne can’t stand you,” Susan agreed.

Hermione snorted, “Yeah she’s not your biggest fan so you made the right call and Harry?”

Harry looked up, “Yeah?”

“Thank you, for investigating this properly and not just taking the easy way out,” Hermione said sincerely.

Harry smiled at her, “You’re family Hermione, and she’s your friend. I owed it to you to do this right.”

Hermione stepped forward and hugged him after he jumped down off of her desk.

* * *

When Susan and Hermione both walked into Daphne’s office later that morning, she looked up suspiciously, “Please do not tell me that someone else has died.”

“Nobody has died,” Susan promised her friend.

“But the Aurors have arrested the person who killed your sister,” Hermione said, putting a cup of coffee on Daphne’s desk.

Daphne looked up sharply, “So it wasn’t suicide?”

“It wasn’t suicide,” Hermione confirmed, “She was murdered, by Theodore Nott.”

Daphne’s face contorted in anger, “Theodore Nott? That creepy little weirdo who followed me around at school?”

Hermione nodded, she sat down opposite Daphne and looked at her empathetically, “When he confessed, he said that he did it in an attempt to frame Draco for Astoria’s murder.”

“So that I would what? Fall into his arms?” Daphne fumed, “That disgusting, piece of shit! He killed my sister because he thought that would trick me into falling in love with him?”

“He is disgusting,” Susan agreed, stepping forward and enveloping her friend in a hug, “But he’s going to go to jail for a very long time. He struck close to the hearts of one of the DMLE’s own Daphne, Harry is fast-tracking the entire case so that it goes to trial on Friday.”

“And it’s Suse and me acting in Astoria’s defence at the trial, so there is no way he’s getting away with this,” Hermione promised Daphne, “He will go away for a long-time, hopefully for the rest of his miserable, ratty life.”

Daphne smiled weakly at them both, it was clear that she was holding back tears, “Thank you, for being such supportive friends and colleagues,” she managed to choke out, before saying that she needed to use the restroom and dashing out of her office.

* * *

By the time Hermione got home, cooked dinner and put it down on the table that night, she was exhausted. It hit 6 pm, which was always dinner time, and Bill wasn’t home yet so Hermione put his dinner back in the oven for him.

“Where’s Uncle Bill?” Hugo asked through a mouthful of chicken.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Hermione chastised him, “I expect Uncle Bill has been held up at work, Gringotts is a very busy place you know.”

Rose nodded and launched into a full-blown explanation of how busy Gringotts was, due to its late opening hours, extensive vaults and all of the additional services it offered. Hugo looked bored to death and Hermione was just grateful for his silence so that she could eat some food in peace.

Dinner came and dinner went, and there was still no sign of Bill. Hermione knew she wasn’t his keeper, and he didn’t have to inform her if he planned on going out anywhere but as the hour grew later she did start to get a little concerned. The kids had their baths, changed into their pyjamas and went to bed.

Hermione came downstairs and made herself a cup of coffee then settled down in the living room with a book about corporate law, she glanced up at the clock, it was 8.30 pm. Surely Bill wouldn’t be working _this_ late?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the backdoor opened and Hermione listened for any sign that he had company. However, all she heard was him curse as he hit his knee on the console table by the door in the darkened kitchen.

She smiled in amusement and stepped out into the hallway, “Nice of you to finally join us.”

Bill smiled sheepishly at her, “I’m sorry, I realised about half an hour ago that I should have floo-ed you. Knowing how your brain works, you probably thought the goblins had risen and killed all of the humans in the bank.”

Hermione laughed nervously because that had actually been one of the first thoughts to cross her mind once she had put the kids down to bed.

“Hey, I’m not your wife or your girlfriend,” Hermione said with a shrug, “You can come home as late as you want, but I am glad that you didn’t bring anyone home with you. My kids do live here after all.”

Bill shook his head, “No, no, it was nothing like that. I spoke to my boss about consulting today, getting out of the office you know? He jumped at the idea which meant I had to sit through a very long meeting with the goblins,” he rolled his eyes as he took off his coat, “Jeez those creatures can talk for Britain.”

Hermione laughed lightly, “Well there’s dinner in the oven if you’re hungry,” she told him.

“Thank you,” Bill said gratefully as he took a step closer to her, “And for the record you know, I would love for you to be my girlfriend or my anything, for that matter.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed at those words, “Bill, it’s complicated. Charlie-”

Bill’s face fell, but he nodded and turned around, “Charlie, yeah you’re right. It always comes back to Charlie.”

“It just wouldn’t feel fair to him,” Hermione said quietly, “I don’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry.”

Bill shook his head, “It’s fine, honestly. I’ve just had a long day and I’m hungry, thank you for cooking dinner Hermione, I appreciate that.”

Hermione just nodded.

“Feel free to go back to your book,” Bill added, it wasn’t a nasty dismissal but Hermione recognised it for what it was so without another word, she left him alone in the kitchen.

* * *

The rest of the week flew in as Hermione prepared for the trial at work, and went about her usual monotonous tasks at home: she cooked, she cleaned, she put the kids to bed then she and Bill read together in peaceful silence. Neither of them had mentioned the conversation that they had had late on Monday night, but neither of them were holding a grudge over it either.

When Friday rolled around the trial came with it, and as they had promised, Hermione and Susan put Theodore Nott away for a very long time. He was sentenced to Murder with Intent and given life in Azkaban. Daphne cried when Draco came out of the courtroom and told her the verdict. The two of them embraced and Daphne led Draco out of the DMLE as he shed some tears of his own.

“Do you think they’re going to make it?” Susan had asked.

“I hope so,” Hermione had admitted honestly.

That afternoon while they were processing the weekly paperwork, Susan had suggested a night out to cool off a little after the stress that they had all been through lately. Hermione didn’t think that it was a bad idea, but she also didn’t have a babysitter and the only person she could really ask was Bill.

“Just ask him,” Susan nudged.

Hermione sighed, “We’re not on the best of terms right now, he has feelings for me and don’t get me wrong, I have feelings for him too but it would just feel like a betrayal to Charlie.”

“Even though Charlie told you not to wait for him?” Daphne questioned.

“He said he would understand if someone else came along,” Susan added.

“Yes but I doubt he meant his brother!” Hermione remarked.

“He didn’t specify so that’s his problem,” Daphne shrugged.

Hermione just sighed, “I’ll ask him to babysit, but there’s no guarantee that he will say yes,” she said as she conjured up a Patronus and sent it away with a message for Bill.

5 minutes later, a silver wolf bounded into her office and spoke with Bill’s voice, “Course I don’t mind watching them. I think a night out with the girls will do you the world of good, you’ve been working too much. Have fun!”

The wolf disappeared and Susan grinned, “See? A night on the town will do you the world of good, it will do you _both_ the world of good,” she added for Daphne’s benefit.

* * *

He hadn’t been wrong. Several hours later, everyone felt a little lighter and bubblier, but that was probably down to the shots that Susan kept buying. After a little while, Hermione had lost count of how many there were.

As the clock struck midnight, Daphne hit the wall and got melancholy so Susan suggested that they make sure she got home safely. Hermione knew what that meant and grudgingly agreed to make the call. She slipped out of the loud club into the back alley and sent a Patronus with the message of, “Hi Draco. Can you meet me at the gates of Malfoy Manor in five minutes? Daphne had a good night but she’s hit the sad stage and I’m worried about her getting home on her own.”

Hermione then leant against the wall and enjoyed the cool air for a moment while she waited for a reply. It didn’t take long for a dragon to land graciously at her feet, it opened its mouth and spoke with Draco’s voice, “Of course. Thank you for looking out for her, I will meet you by the gates 5 minutes from now.”

Hermione slipped back inside and managed to wrestle a tearful Daphne out of the place, with Susan’s help. Together they apparated her to the Manor, where Draco swept her up and took her inside, smiling at them gratefully as he did so.

Susan crossed her arms and leant against the wrought iron gate, “So what now?” she asked.

“Do you want to call it a night?” Hermione asked, looking up at the moon, “It is past midnight…”

“Why are you looking at the moon so intensely?” Susan asked curiously.

“It’s a full moon tonight,” Hermione said, thinking of Bill.

“Ah, you’re worried about Bill,” Susan realised.

Hermione just nodded.

“Let’s call it a night then. See you bright and early tomorrow morning,” she said, winking at Hermione and disappearing with a twist of her heel.

Hermione apparated home too, but to the edge of the village because she fancied a walk. As it turned out, the walk was the worst idea she had ever had. She hadn’t felt that drunk despite all of those shots, but then the fresh air hit her and the closer she got to the house, the more lightheaded she felt.

As a result, when she stepped into the kitchen and saw Bill sitting at the breakfast bar, pouring over some book with gory Egyptian images in it, she grinned stupidly at him, “Hey Bill.”

Bill grinned back, “Hey Hermione,” he said, “You a little drunk?”

“Just a tiny bit,” Hermione said, leaning against the counter, “Are you okay? The full moon is out.”

“I know it is,” Bill chuckled, glancing at the blind over the kitchen window, “Did you expect to come back and find me howling at it?”

Hermione giggled, “You’re funny.”

“You’re drunk,” Bill chuckled as he got to his feet, “And you need to go to bed.”

“Are you coming with me?”

Bill raised an eyebrow at her, “Now, you know that I want to do that, very badly actually, but I’m not going to take advantage of you when you’re drunk.”

Hermione took a step closer to him and said, “Even if I want you to?”

Bill shivered and took a step back, “Come on Hermione, you need to sleep,” he said, his resolve not as strong as it would be any other night of the month. On the full moon, everything was heightened and that included his sex drive.

Hermione grudgingly agreed and let Bill follow her up the stairs to make sure that she didn’t slip and hurt herself. When they reached her bedroom door, he opened it and nudged her inside.

Hermione stopped in the doorway and grabbed his shirt before he could walk away. She pulled him towards her and kissed him, and even though she tasted of tequila, it was still the most delicious thing to Bill at that moment. He wanted to pull away, to tell her to sleep it off because she would regret it in the morning. But everything in him was pulling him towards her, pushing him into her arms and into her bedroom.

Hermione pushed the door shut behind them and whispered a silencing charm. Bill consoled himself with the thought that if she was sober enough to do that, then she wasn’t quite drunk as he had originally thought.

“Hermione, we can’t,” Bill said, breaking the kiss and resting his head in the hollow of her neck, his lips resting against her collar bone. He could feel her pulse, hear her heart racing.

Hermione pulled away from him, and at first, he thought it was because she had come to her senses and realised that he was right. But when he saw the look in her eye, a mixture of mischievousness and lust, he knew that there was something else on her mind.

“You won’t right now because you’re fighting it,” Hermione said softly, “You want it but you’re holding back, but I know how to stop that.”

Bill frowned at her, “Hermione-”

“You keep all of the curtains and blinds shut for a reason when the moon is full, don’t you?” Hermione asked as she edged towards the window.

“Hermione, don’t,” Bill said sharply as he reached out and grabbed her hand, “I’m fighting every impulse right now because all I want is to pin you to that bed and make you scream all night long. If you open that window, all bets are off.”

Hermione smirked at him and yanked her arm out of his grasp to pull one side of the curtain away. Just enough for the moonlight to shine through onto Bill, just enough for Bill’s eyes to catch sight of the moon and darken.

At first, Hermione couldn’t tell if it was anger or lust that made him growl and move towards her, but when his lips connected with hers she knew it had been the latter. He kissed her hard, gripped her tightly and as promised, pinned her down on the bed.

His mouth moved to her neck where he left a trail of kisses down her collar bone, then he vanished her clothes with a click of his fingers and moved his mouth down her body, over every sensitive area that he could, leaving Hermione gasping, arching her back and crying out for Bill to just end the torture already.

When he did, Hermione was grateful for the silencing charm that she had cast on her bedroom. He slid into her, with no warning whatsoever, and she gripped his back tightly as she moaned his name.

The full moon had definitely brought out the wolf in him, he didn’t groan, he growled and he used his teeth, but Hermione didn’t mind. If anything, she found that she liked it. He hadn’t talked much, and Hermione hadn’t been able to do much more than moan his name, always his name, never Charlie’s because until Bill mentioned him, Hermione hadn’t thought about him once.

“Did Charlie fuck you like this?” Bill growled in her ear as he thrust into her hard, making her cry out and arch her back, pressing her entire body against him.

“Bill,” Hermione gasped, “Don’t talk like that.”

“Why?” Bill challenged, whispering against her ear and sending shivers down her spine, “Because it turns you on?” he punctuated every sentence with a thrust, each one harder than the last.

“Because you act all sweet and innocent but deep down, you know you want both of us,” Bill whispered as Hermione shuddered.

“You’ve thought about it, haven’t you?” Bill asked her, “Charlie and I, fucking you together?”

The words were the final straw, they were the words that took her over the edge and Bill followed her there, breathing heavily while she panted by his side.

In the aftermath of it, she didn’t know how he would react. She didn’t know if he would be angry, she felt like she should be apologetic. Neither of them said a word until Bill rose to his feet, Hermione thought that he was leaving, but he just pulled the curtain shut then breathed a little easier again.

“You shouldn’t have done that you know,” Bill said quietly.

“I know,” Hermione admitted, sitting up in bed and pulling the covers close, suddenly feeling self-conscious, “I was drunk and I…I had been fighting it for a long time and I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

“I didn’t want the first time to be like that though Hermione,” Bill said, still sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to her, “I didn’t want you to see that side of me.”

“I’d have seen it eventually Bill,” Hermione admitted, “Whether it was a week or a month in, it’s a part of who you are.”

“It’s not a part that I’m proud of,” Bill said, it was hard to read how he was feeling from his tone of voice.

“I know I shouldn’t have surprised you the way that I did,” Hermione said honestly, “But I don’t see why you’re so upset either. You didn’t hurt me, you didn’t hurt yourself and that was the best sex I have had in…well possibly ever.”

At this Bill turned around to look at her, her cheeks were flushed and her hair was all over the place.

“I know, I’m a mess,” Hermione said with a weak laugh, “Ron always used to say I looked like I’d been dragged through a hedge after sex.”

Bill shook his head and reached out to cup her cheek, “I think you look more beautiful than ever,” he said honestly.

“Get back in bed,” Hermione urged him.

Having been invited, Bill obliged immediately. He lay down next to her, pulling her close with an arm over her hip, “Does that mean you think I’m better than Charlie?” He asked, amusement lacing his tone of voice.

“I wondered how long it would take before that question came up,” Hermione chuckled as she nestled against him, the bedroom was thick with the smell of sweat and sex but she didn’t mind.

Bill pressed himself against her, and Hermione chuckled when she felt his erection, “Is once not enough for you, Bill Weasley?”

“My sex drive is in overdrive during the full moon,” Bill murmured, kissing the back of her neck, “You’ll get used to it if this becomes a thing.”

Hermione just hummed thoughtfully.

“You never answered my question,” Bill whispered in the silence of the night, “About Charlie.”

“You were different from Charlie,” Hermione said diplomatically.

“Different how?” Bill asked curiously.

“Do you want me to tell you about the time I slept with Charlie?” Hermione asked, turning around to look at him, “Because I swear, the more you ask, the more turned on you seem.”

Bill’s eyes flashed with amusement, “Hermione, Charlie and I are competitive at the best of times and we both want you. That much is clear to all three of us, but Charlie and I both want each other, pretty regularly so you can see why I might be turned out by the idea, don’t you?”

Hermione met his eye and smirked, “Fine. Have it your way,” she said, shutting her eyes and whispering one word.

At first, Bill wasn’t sure what she had done, but then his head was flooded with images and he realised that she had in effect, transferred the memory to him. He shut his eyes as he watched Hermione’s memory back, as he watched Hermione teasing Charlie, Charlie pressing her against the breakfast bar in the kitchen and taking her then and there. Hermione throwing her head back and crying out his brother's name.

When he opened his eyes they were full of lust. Hermione smiled cheekily at him and let her hands roam down his body, “Like what you saw?” she asked, kissing him as she began to stroke his cock.

Bill groaned and moved against her hand, “Didn’t make you scream like I did though did he?” He asked against her lips.

Hermione, feeling more confident than usual due to the combination of alcohol and sex, just replied with, “No, but imagine what the two of you could do to me together.”

Bill groaned at the very thought and grabbed her hips, sliding into her seamlessly, “Now you’ve done it,” he said, his fingers gripping her hard enough to leave bruises as he flipped her onto her front and pressed her into the bed.

Hermione laughed and looked over her shoulder at him, “This is how you’re different. Charlie is slow and soft, passionate but never rough. You, on the other hand, you’re all passion. You take what you want, how you want it and…I like that about you.”

Bill’s eyes flashed again, “Good,” He said, “Because I’m going to keep taking what I want, how I want.”

Hermione let out an involuntary moan at his words and Bill chuckled, in that low, deep way that never failed to send shivers down her spine.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	16. He Can Be the Sun, I'll Be the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title comes from the song:  
> I'll Be the Moon by Dierks Bentley and Maren Morris.

When Bill woke up early the morning after their tryst, it was to an empty bed. He threw on a t-shirt and padded downstairs, through the silent house, to the kitchen where he found Hermione.

She was surrounded by crumpled up balls of paper as she sat with her head in her hands, an abandoned cup of coffee by her side.

Bill sighed softly, “You’re trying to write to Charlie,” he said.

Hermione looked up at Bill with bloodshot eyes, “It turns out that there’s no easy way to tell someone you didn’t wait for them because you slept with their brother.”

“I warned you that you would regret it,” Bill said, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

“I don’t regret it because I don’t want you,” Hermione assured him as she vanished the parchment away, “I regret it because I feel like I’ve betrayed Charlie and as someone who has never cheated in their life, that makes me feel sick.”

“You have not betrayed Charlie,” Bill promised, sitting down across the table from her, “I should have told you about something he said to me before he left, I should have told you a while ago.”

Hermione frowned over at him, “What did he say?”

“He said that he had to go, that he wasn’t what you wanted and that it would be better that way,” Bill said honestly, “Then he asked me to look after you while he was gone. I told him that I would but that I wouldn’t necessarily be able to stop myself from taking our relationship further.”

“You said that to him?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Bill nodded, “I did, and his reply was that he understood what he was giving up by running away to chase dragons and adventure.”

Hermione let out a sigh of relief, “So what happened last night, he won’t be angry about it?”

“I don’t think he’ll be very happy for us, but he won’t be angry about it,” Bill promised, reaching over and grabbing her hand, “The question on my mind is what you want this to be? Because I will go at your pace, if that was a one night stand then I’ll accept that and move forward. If you want it to be a sexual relationship or a casual relationship, I’m okay with that too. And if you want it to be more than that, then frankly I’ll be over the moon.”

Hermione smiled, he still managed to be sweet in the light of day. It was such a change from the version of Bill that she had seen the night before.

“Right now Bill, I want it to be for our eyes only,” Hermione said softly, she squeezed his hand, “Charlie doesn’t need to know until he comes home, and both of our kids have been put through enough recently. I’m happy to carry on as we were with the bonus of being able to slip into each other’s rooms on occasion.”

Bill smiled, he leant across the breakfast bar to steal a kiss from her, “Okay,” he said simply. He drew back and Hermione smiled back at him.

“Coffee?” Bill asked as he grabbed the coffee pot.

Hermione chuckled at the normalcy of it all, “Coffee would be great,” She admitted.

And just like that, they slipped back into the easy routine that they had gotten into over the past few weeks.

* * *

Hermione wanted to try and get through the day without blurting out to her two best friends that she had slept with Bill, but she failed extraordinarily.

She got into her office, sat down with her coffee, flicked through her morning paperwork then looked up at the two expectant faces and said, “I slept with Bill last night, and I feel awful.”

“Was he that bad?” Daphne joked.

“No Daphne, I feel so awful for Charlie!” Hermione exclaimed.

Susan laughed out loud as Daphne said, “Screw Charlie. He said before he left that you two had fallen before you even had a chance to fly. There was no obligation there, none at all.”

“Bill said the same thing this morning,” Hermione sighed, “He said that Charlie told him to keep an eye on me. Apparently, Charlie said to Bill that he knew what he was risking by leaving for the island.”

“So why are you feeling guilty then?” Susan asked Hermione incredulously.

“Because it goes beyond that,” Daphne realised, “The guilt isn’t because you feel that you owe anything to Charlie. It’s because you like Charlie, and you feel guilty for liking Bill too.”

Hermione sighed heavily and nodded, “Yes, that is exactly what it is,” she admitted.

“Well you need to make your mind up,” Susan said, crossing her arms to look at her friend, “Because they are both head over heels for you.”

“I know,” Hermione said, her head beginning to pound.

* * *

Daphne and Susan had the sense not to mention the love triangle for the rest of the week which Hermione was grateful for. At home, she and Bill carried on. They read books together, they took turns cooking and Bill was a great help with the kids. The only thing that had changed was what happened later at night, long after the kids had gone to bed.

Hermione would tiptoe upstairs into the big room at the top of the house, and he always seemed to know that she was coming because he was always awake. By Saturday night, Hermione had barely spent any time in her own bedroom.

“What do you think about me taking on a consulting job?” Bill asked in the early hours of Sunday morning as he ran his hand down her side, he had such a gentle touch which contrasted with the way he was in the bedroom completely.

Hermione turned around to look at him, “Did you get offered a job?” She asked, propping herself up on one elbow.

Bill nodded, his blue eyes meeting hers, “I said I had to consider it for a couple of days before I accepted or declined the offer.”

“What kind of consulting job?” Hermione asked curiously, “Is it for the bank?”

“No,” Bill said, his hand pausing and resting on her hip, “Which is a pro and a con. On the one hand, Gringotts will always provide stable employment. But on the other hand, I’m bored Hermione and I’m really fed up of goblins. If I accepted the job I would be working for the Department of Mysteries, but I wouldn’t be an Unspeakable. I would be retrieving items of note for them, making sure they weren’t cursed and bringing them back to Britain.”

Hermione frowned, “It sounds dangerous Bill.”

“It would be if a junior curse breaker got the job, which is why they want me,” Bill said, moving his hand to the side of her face, “I’m one of the best in my field, I know what I’m doing.”

“I know,” Hermione said honestly, “I know you are. You and Charlie are both the best in your fields but your Mother doesn’t acknowledge your brilliance because she wanted you to waste your talents at a desk job in the Ministry.”

Bill smiled at her, “It doesn’t matter if she acknowledges our brilliance or not. You do, that’s enough for me and I expect it’s enough for Charlie too.”

Hermione leant forward and kissed Bill lightly, “Take the job Bill. Break the monotony, travel the world.”

Bill smiled into the kiss, “I’ll be here more often than not. But when I’m not here, I could be gone for a couple of weeks at a time, worst-case scenario.”

Hermione pulled back and looked at him for a long moment, he frowned, unsure why he was under scrutiny. It was because the cogs in Hermione’s brain were whirring faster than ever as she tried to make a decision. Bill or Charlie? Two men that she had feelings for, rather intense feelings for in fact. Two men she had incredible respect for. Charlie who loved dragons and magical creatures as much as she did, Charlie who loved her kids as if they were his own. Charlie whose smile could light up a room, who made her laugh and made her feel like all of the darkness in the world was melting away.

Then there was Bill who was intelligent and loved to read. Bill who she could have the most heated debate with over an article in the morning prophet. Bill who made her stomach flip when he looked at her with that easy grin of his. Bill who could hold her tightly and make her feel safer than she had in a long time.

How could she choose between them? They both loved adventure, neither of them had been very good at staying put and neither of them had been very good at staying faithful either. Bill would always be there, he would go away for short spells but most mornings she would wake next to him and most night she would go to sleep with him by her side. Charlie, on the other hand, he would come and go. He would work abroad but come back when he could, and as much as she had begun to fall in love with him, she didn’t think that she could live that way.

So Hermione decided in that split second there. She smiled at Bill and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll always be here when you get home.”

Bill grinned broadly and dove in to kiss her passionately. She had chosen him.

* * *

The following morning, Bill and Hermione got the kids ready then headed to the Burrow for Sunday lunch. Hermione had a feeling that Ginny suspected something was up from the knowing look that she shot Hermione. Hermione tried to avoid her for the rest of the morning as she helped Molly with the lunch and answered all Rose’s questions about Egyptian curses patiently.

“I think I’ll be a curse breaker when I’m older, like Uncle Bill,” Rose concluded at the end of the conversation.

Hermione smiled at her daughter, “You can be whatever you want to be sweetie.”

Rose beamed and dashed out of the kitchen. Hermione smiled after her and continued setting up the table while Molly was rounding up eggs outside.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at Hermione from the doorway and stepped into the small kitchen, “How long have you been sleeping with my brother for?”

“What?” Hermione asked sharply, and a little defensively because she had slept with two of Ginny’s brothers recently.

“You and Bill,” Ginny said quietly, “It’s clear to anyone with eyes and half a brain cell, so probably only me, that something is going on between you two.”

“Only for a couple of weeks,” Hermione admitted in a whisper, “We were keeping it quiet because it’s controversial.”

“Because he just got divorced and because you were widowed 6 months ago?” Ginny asked sarcastically.

“Yes, that’s exactly why,” Hermione mumbled, “It’s not just sex Ginny. It’s more than that, a lot more.”

“I know,” Ginny said honestly, “I can tell when I look at the way you two smile at each other. I just wanted to say that you ought to be careful. You don’t know what you’re getting into, Bill was always the sweetest guy you could ever meet but things changed after Greyback. Something in him changed.”

“I know,” Hermione said softly, “I know it did and I’m okay with that. Bill knows that.”

Ginny smiled and grabbed Hermione’s hand, “I’m happy for you Hermione, and the others will be too when you feel ready to tell them.”

Hermione smiled back at her friend, but before they could discuss the matter anymore, Bill stepped into the kitchen, “Sorry, am I interrupting something?”

“Just girl talk,” Ginny said, winking at Hermione before disappearing from the room.

“You were talking about me, weren’t you?” Bill asked as Hermione leant against the counter with her eyes towards the open backdoor, just in case Molly walked back in.

“Yes, we were,” Hermione replied.

Bill took a step closer to her and said, “Sorry, just need to grab a napkin for Hugo. He spilt milk all over the chair.”

He stood with his body close to hers and leant past her to grab the napkins. His mouth brushing over her ear as he did so.

“You could have just asked me to move,” Hermione said, her eyes fluttering shut for a second.

“Wouldn’t have been anywhere near as much fun though,” Bill whispered, making Hermione shiver.

She opened her eyes and they widened in surprise when she saw Charlie standing in the backdoor with a rucksack thrown over one shoulder, “Charlie!” She exclaimed when she saw him.

Bill took a step back and turned around to look at his brother, and Hermione ran towards Charlie and hugged him, “You didn’t say you were coming home in your last letter!”

“I thought I would surprise you,” Charlie said, smiling as he hugged Hermione tightly. He looked over at Bill past Hermione and saw a crestfallen look on his face.

Hermione pulled back from the hug and touched his face, there was a new scar down one side. It was long and thin, barely noticeable really, but Hermione had studied his face before he left, “Are you okay?” she asked as she ran a finger down the mark.

“Fine,” Charlie said, smiling softly at her, “All part of the job love.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you home for good?”

“Not quite,” Charlie admitted, “I have one dragon to get off the island but she’s causing quite a conundrum so I came back for your help.”

“My help?” Hermione asked in surprise.

“Your help, I need a lawyer, one who specializes in creature law and I figured you would be my girl,” Charlie said, feeling guilty as he saw the hurt that flashed across Bill’s face at those words.

“I can definitely help when it comes to creature law,” Hermione said with a smile.

“Do you want to go for a walk before lunch, to discuss it?” Charlie asked her.

Hermione wanted to say yes straight away, but she turned around to look at Bill first. Bill smiled at her, somewhat sadly, “Go save the dragons, Hermione. I’ll keep the kids entertained.”

Hermione smiled at him, “Thank you, Bill,” she said, hoping the tone of her voice and the look she had given him conveyed more than her words could say.

“Come on, before Mum spots me,” Charlie said, grabbing Hermione’s hand and tearing her away from the Burrow.

They dashed into the woods outside the house together, it was a dry but cold day so the leaves underfoot crunched as they walked through them.

“So this dragon,” Hermione said, feeling awful about how easy it felt to walk arm in arm with him like this.

Charlie nodded, “We don’t know where we stand with her because she’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Hermione asked in surprise, “But I thought all of the dragons were female?”

“They are,” Charlie said, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at her, “We have no idea how she got pregnant.”

“Can dragons breed with other creatures?” Hermione asked curiously.

“They can, but normally the fetus won’t survive long enough to be viable,” Charlie said, “And as she has just started nesting around the egg, we know this one’s going to be a live one.”

“So if dragons can’t cross-breed and there are no male dragons anywhere near that island, how on earth did this happen?” Hermione asked with interest.

“That’s what we’ve been trying to find out all week. One of the guys I work with keeps on banging on about how life will find a way, at first I thought he was bonkers but he’s right,” Charlie explained, “It’s in every creatures nature to try and reproduce, look at how much us humans love doing it.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed as he looked at her suggestively. She cleared her throat, “So where do I come into this?”

“Legally, we don’t know where we stand,” Charlie admitted, “The dragons were technically the property of the Ministry until they were handed over to the care of the Romanian and Snowdonian Reserves.”

“So surely this new dragon will still be the property of the reserves,” Hermione said with a frown, “Creature law is similar to human law in that respect. The baby is the property of the Mother so whoever is responsible for the Mother is responsible for the baby too.”

“See, that’s what I thought,” Charlie said as they came to a stop in the orchard, “But then one of my colleagues raised another issue that I hadn’t thought of. These dragons that we’ve been extracting from the island, they are considered as less than a creature because they were genetically engineered but this dragon that is about to born is different. It will be the first _born_ dragon on that island, born to an extinct species. We have no idea what is going to come out of that egg.”

“And you can’t decide if you’re scared or excited about that,” Hermione said, smiling at Charlie knowingly.

“I’m terrified about it,” Charlie admitted, “But I’m excited about what it could mean. Hermione, these dragons that have been extinct for years…we might be able to do more than study them, we might be able to bring them back.”

Hermione sighed contently, “Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Charlie nodded, his eyes meeting hers. He smiled at her easily and said, “Godric, you’re brilliant. Why did I ever leave?”

Hermione opened her mouth to tell Charlie that he left because dragons always had and always would come first for him. But before she had the chance, he had kissed her. She wanted to shove him away, to tell him about Bill but it wasn’t until that moment that she realised how much she had missed Charlie. His earthy scent invaded her nostrils, his calloused hands cupped her face, he kissed her softly and passionately, like she was the most cherished thing.

Hermione’s eyes fluttered shut and she could have lost herself in that kiss so easily, but she had to stop herself. She couldn’t do that to Bill so she broke the kiss and took a step back, “Charlie, I can’t. I…I’m…well, Bill and I are…”

Charlie nodded, not even trying to hide the hurt that flashed through his eyes, “You and Bill.”

Hermione could only nod, not sure what else she wanted him to say.

“I had to make a decision,” Hermione explained quietly, “I was beginning to fall for you, but then you left and I do think that dragons will always come first for you Charlie. It’s not a bad thing, it’s an admirable thing and it’s something I love about you but it’s still the truth.”

Charlie nodded, pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly.

“But Bill will be around more than he will be away,” Hermione continued, having to get it all out now.

“And that’s what you need,” Charlie said knowingly, “A constant companion, not someone who flits in and out of your life when it’s convenient because that’s too similar to what Ron was.”

Hermione was surprised by how much he got it. She nodded and drew back, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” Charlie said honestly. He smiled sadly at her and said, “Come on, we had better get back before the rain starts.”

* * *

Hermione didn’t have much of a chance to talk to Bill at the Burrow. They kept their distance because they had to if they wanted to keep the recent developments between them a secret. Bill caught up with Percy, told his mother about his new job and notably avoided Charlie for the entire day which was out of character for both of the brothers.

Hermione wondered what might be said when they went home that night, she knew that Bill would be curious about what she and Charlie had talked about during their walk through the woods.

They didn’t talk about it right away when they went home. Hermione got the kids to bed, and when she stepped into the kitchen, there was a cup of coffee waiting for her.

“Thank you,” She said gratefully as she sat down at the breakfast bar.

“I thought you had chosen me,” Bill said quietly, “And then Charlie showed up.”

“I did choose you,” Hermione promised, brown eyes meeting blue, “Charlie showing up didn’t change that.”

“It looked to me like it did,” Bill said, his eyes boring into hers, “Your eyes lit up when you saw him. I know you have feelings for me Hermione, but I sometimes wonder if your feelings for Charlie are stronger.”

Hermione sighed and looked down into the depths of her coffee, “Charlie talked to me about dragon law, and then he kissed me. I told him that I was with you, and he understood. He was upset, but he understood.”

“He kissed you?” Bill fumed, “He knew we were together the minute he walked through the backdoor. I could see it on his face when he saw us together but he still kissed you?”

“Bill, you can’t let this get between you and Charlie-”

“Like hell I can’t,” Bill exclaimed, “I’m done with Charlie, _done_ with him. He’s made me angry in the past but this is a whole new low for him.”

“Bill-”

Bill raised a hand, “I’m going to go to my own bed tonight Hermione, and it’s not because I’m angry at you. I just…I need space to process this.”

Hermione nodded, “I understand.”

* * *

Bill had gone out for a walk to clear his head, and Hermione had gone to her bed relatively early that night. She had slept relatively peaceful until something woke her up around midnight. She frowned, for a moment worrying that somebody had broken into the house.

Then she realised that what she was hearing were the angry whispers of two men. One of them was Bill, and the other was Charlie. She sighed and got to her feet, slipping on a silken gown and padding softly down the stairs towards the kitchen door.

She used wordless magic to throw up a silencing ward on the stairs so that their argument wouldn’t wake the kids up. Then she stopped in the kitchen doorway and listened to them.

“I know!” Charlie hissed, “I know what I gave up when I went to that island Bill, but that doesn’t make this pill any easier to swallow. I think she might have been the first _woman_ I’ve felt this way about since Dora and you tore that apart too.”

“I did tear things apart with Dora,” Bill agreed in an undertone, “And you know how sorry I am for that. You know if I could go back in time and do things differently, I would Char. But I’m not responsible for what happened between you and Hermione. You pushed her away, she fell in love with you but you loved dragons more. Ever since Dora, you’ve always loved dragons more and unless you can learn to love someone more than you love those fire breathing creatures, you are going to keep pushing Hermione away and hurting her.”

“So you’re perfect for her, is that what you’re saying?” Charlie asked irritably.

“I’m by no means perfect for her,” Bill hissed, “And you know that more than anybody else! I think she’s beautiful, inside and out, and all I want is to protect her and care for her but I _do_ hurt her when the moon is full just like I hurt Fleur and just like I hurt you. I hate that I do, but there’s nothing I can do to change it because it’s part of who I am and it has been since Greyback attacked me.”

Hermione thought about stepping in, but she wanted to see where the argument took the two brothers.

“I’m not saying that I’m the best fit for her and that you’re not,” Bill continued, “Because truthfully, I think she loves you and I don’t think she loves me. But you can’t be what she needs right now, she needs stability and that’s always been a sticking point for you.”

“I can do stability,” Charlie argued.

“Can you?” Bill asked, his sharp blue eyes meeting Charlie’s, “Because you’ve never managed stable relationships in the past. You’ve had one night stands and flings, and the only thing that ever brought you home was family.”

Charlie scoffed in disbelief, “You’re an idiot Bill, a complete fucking idiot. The family wasn’t what brought me home, do you think I came home for Mums food or for Ginny to question me for hours about my latest tattoo? I didn’t come home for that, I came home for _you_. The only constant in my life has been you, wherever I am, wherever you are, there has always been us and that’s why I’ve never been able to make a relationship work because the only thing that I love more than dragons is you.”

Bill seemed taken aback by the emotional tirade from his younger brother. He stared at Charlie for a second then took a step forward and kissed him. Hermione had caught them kissing a couple of times, but it was always fast and hurried like they were scared that someone would catch them.

But it was different this time, even though they were standing in the middle of her kitchen. Bill kissed Charlie softly, with trepidation, as if he were testing the waters to see where he stood with his brother. Charlie pulled Bill closer, deepening the kiss and letting his hands get lost in Bill’s shoulder-length hair, which was down at the moment. Hermione loved when his hair was down too, especially when it was a mess in the morning and she had to find him underneath it.

She sighed softly. It wasn’t a sad sigh because she had known that this was inevitable and really, there was only one thing that she could do about it.

So Hermione stepped into the kitchen and cleared her throat.

Bill and Charlie jumped apart immediately, it was as if they had both been electrocuted.

“Hermione-” Bill began.

Hermione raised a hand, “Don’t,” she said simply as she walked across the tiled floor and pushed herself up onto the breakfast bar. She crossed her legs and looked at them both, the two brothers were watching her with a frown unsure why she was exuding calmness when she should have been angry.

“I’ve been thinking about this, for a long time actually,” Hermione began as coffee began to brew itself in a pot behind her, “I have a high-stress job, do you two know that? I deal with murderers and rapists and the scum of the earth on a daily basis, and on top of that, I have Aurors at my heels all of the time wanting me to do them favours. I keep it all in as best as I can, I think a lot of the time my frustration at the world comes out through sex, which I think you both know well enough.”

Charlie and Bill looked at each other, bemusement shining in their eyes as they wondered where she was going with this.

“And I’m a single mother to two kids, who I love dearly, but you both know that they can be difficult at times,” Hermione continued, “Rose with her constant need to express her individuality and save every living creature she can, one bumblebee at a time. And Hugo, with his penchant for blowing things up.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “So my life is stressful, and do you know what I don’t need on top of that? The stress of making the decision between which one of you I want to be with, the stress of seeing it tear the two of you apart. So I’ve come to a simple conclusion.”

Bill nodded and sighed, “You’re cutting ties with both of us, to save the stress.”

Charlie smiled slightly, “I don’t think that’s what she’s thinking Bill,” he said, seeing something other than sadness in Hermione’s eyes.

Bill frowned as Hermione smiled, “You’re right Charlie. That’s not what I’m thinking. What I’m thinking is that we have a bit of a situation here. I’m in love with both of you, regardless of what you think about me loving Charlie and not you Bill. A friend of mine told me something very wise and it’s more true than ever right now. You can love two people at once but you can never love two people the same way. Bill, I love you as a partner and a companion. We slip into a routine together in our everyday life and it works, we can spend an evening reading under a blanket and that is happiness for us.”

Bill smiled softly at her words.

“And Charlie, I love you as a friend as well as a lover. I think if you stayed here all of the time, you would soon get bored with the monotony of everyday life and that it would take its toll on our relationship. But I love writing to you when you travel, I miss you when you’re gone and all I want to do when you come home is run into your arms,” Hermione continued.

Charlie smiled too.

“And as for you two, I can’t speak for whether you love me but you love each other. You love each other as best friends, as brothers, and I think maybe as soul mates,” Hermione continued, “Who are we to decide which one of you I should love? Who am I to tear you two apart and sever the bond that has been growing for years between you? There is no bitterness and anger in this room, just love. We all love each other, each in our own way so we need to find a way to make this work.”

Bill and Charlie stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Bill asked, being the first to speak up.

“Yeah, because it kind of sounds like you’re suggesting a three-way relationship,” Charlie piped up.

“I am suggesting that,” Hermione said, smiling at their surprise about the fact that she had come up with the idea, “I tried my best not to sleep with either of you and I ended up sleeping with you both, and Godric knows that you two can’t stop shagging each other so why be secretive about it?”

Charlie stared at her in surprise, a small smile making its way onto his face.

“How would it work?” Bill asked, crossing the room and pulling her down from the counter so that he could hug her, “There would have to be rules.”

“There would have to be rules, yes,” Hermione agreed, “One is that the kids can’t know the full extent of it. They have just lost their father and I can’t put them through much more.”

“I agree, the kids can’t know,” Charlie said, walking towards the two of them, “In fact, I don’t think anyone bar our very close friends should. I think publicly, you ought to be dating one of us and the other one is kept secret.”

“That could lead to a strain on the one who is kept in the dark,” Hermione warned, leaning against Bill’s embrace as he stood behind her.

“It could do, but it’s unlikely to in this situation,” Charlie said with a smile, “You said it yourself. Bill is the one you love as a partner, he’s the one that you want to wake up next to in the morning and do all of those boring everyday things with. The dull stuff like arguing over the morning prophet and drinking your evening cup of tea with.”

Bill chuckled and kissed Hermione’s neck, “I like monotony,” he murmured.

“So do I,” Hermione said, smiling at Charlie.

“But I don’t do monotony Hermione,” Charlie said, coming to a stop in front of her, “I like danger, I love dragons, I like the rush of the chase. You’re right, I would go mad stuck in a suburban life so I’ll quit my job at Hogwarts. I’ll take the job I was offered when I left that island.”

“What job is that?” Hermione asked curiously, feeling oddly content as she leant against Bill and felt his breath on her neck, while Charlie’s hands rested on her hips.

“Consultancy of sorts,” Charlie said, smiling at her, “Those dragons I just saved need to be researched in their own habitats and I was asked to head that up. I would be travelling all over the world, but there would be times when I was at home for a while too.”

“Funny that you say that,” Bill said from behind Hermione, “Because I just accepted a new job of a similar nature. Most of the time I’ll be grounded here, but I can be gone for weeks at a time too.”

Hermione smiled and leant up to kiss Charlie, she chuckled as she felt Bill react to that behind her. He breathed in sharply and she felt something hard press against her bum.

“As I said to Bill, you will always have a home here when life brings you back to England,” Hermione murmured, breaking the kiss.

Charlie looked into her eyes, they seemed to be shining contently, “And there won’t be any jealousy? That has to be the last rule if we want to make this work.”

“There won’t be any jealousy,” Bill promised, “If the three of us are doing this, it’s in every capacity. We can all sleep with whoever we want to within this triad, whether that’s together or separately, I don’t think it matters much.”

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes as Bill kissed her neck, “Any other ground rules babe?” he asked.

Charlie took a step closer to her, well and truly sandwiching her between himself and Bill, “Yeah love, any other rules?”

Hermione shivered, they called her different things and those pet names suited their personalities.

“No,” She said, opening her eyes to look at the shorter Weasley, “I think that’s all of the ground rules laid out.”

“Good,” Charlie said, kissing her lightly once more, “Because I do have one last question, and it’s a big one.”

Bill chuckled as if he knew what was coming next.

Hermione met his eyes, they were sparkling mischievously, “Ask it then.”

Charlie grinned at her, “We’ve established that this is what you want, that you want both of us. But have you got the guts to prove it?”

Once upon a time, Hermione’s cheeks would have flushed and she would have gotten flustered because she couldn’t lie and pretend that the thought hadn’t crossed her mind. She had been thinking about a three-way relationship for a while but that meant having sex with them both, and she wasn’t sure how they would go about that, or if she could see it through.

But Charlie had challenged her, he was challenging her right now with the smirk on his face and Bill had obviously thought that she wasn’t up to the task either because he had chuckled and anticipated Charlie’s question.

She could be shy at times, especially regarding sex since it had been such a wham, bam, thank you ma’am thing for Ron. But Hermione did not like to back down from a challenge, and Charlie _knew_ that.

“Oh don’t worry Charlie,” Hermione said, smirking at him, “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think that I could handle you,” she turned around and looked up at Bill, “Both of you,” she added, leaning in and kissing the taller Weasley.

In all honesty, Hermione had _no_ idea how they were going to go about it so she was glad when the two brothers took control of the situation. They ended up in the bedroom, ‘for comfort’ Bill had said, at which point Charlie had called him an old man and Hermione had pointed out that they were both cradle snatchers.

It felt so easy to be with them both like that, so comfortable somehow. But they were so different too, Bill wanted to take things slow for fear of hurting Hermione or frightening her away. He had magicked their clothes away and was kissing Hermione, he could sense (and to a degree probably smell) her fear and trepidation.

Charlie, on the other hand, had been away for weeks and was therefore horny and impatient.

“You get her every night Bill,” He had murmured, his lips hot against Hermione’s neck.

Hermione gasped against Bill’s lips as Charlie slid into her from behind, without any warning as was Charlie’s way.

Bill rolled his eyes, “Honestly, younger siblings have no patience.”

Hermione would have laughed at such a comment usually, but she wasn’t quite in control enough of her senses to do that. She arched her back and moaned, resting her head against Charlie’s chest.

Charlie smirked at his brother and Bill grinned, his hands roaming over Hermione’s body, “I’ve had weeks with her Char,” he said, his eyes meeting his brothers, “I know _all_ of her sensitive spots.”

He brushed his hands over her nipples and Hermione cried out his name.

This time Bill smirked at Charlie.

“Not all of them,” Charlie added, thrusting into Hermione hard and making her cry out _his_ name.

“It’s not a competition,” Hermione gasped, capturing Bill’s lips into a kiss.

“Mmm,” Bill murmured against her mouth, “It is babe.”

Charlie kissed her neck, “We have always been competitive, sorry love.”

Hermione shifted a little so she could look over her shoulder at Charlie, “How will you know who wins then?”

Charlie, being the more coarse of the two of them, replied, “Well that’s going to depend on which name you scream louder, isn’t it love?”

Hermione groaned inadvertently at his words.

Bill grinned, “You have fantasized about this for a long time, haven’t you?” he asked as he moved his hands lower.

“Yes,” Hermione gasped, trying to glare at him although her heart wasn’t really in it.

“How long?” Charlie asked, biting her shoulder.

“Years,” Hermione gasped, “Oh…Bill!” she added as the elder Weasley swept his fingers over her clit.

“One-nil,” Bill said, smirking over her Hermione’s shoulder at his little brother.

Bill claimed her lips in a kiss as she arched her back and pressed herself tightly against Charlie. The younger man grunted and thrust up into her, it tipped her over the edge and as she came she cried, “Charlie!” against Bill’s lips.

“One-one,” Charlie challenged his big brother.

Hermione’s body relaxed a little, and she rested her head against Bill’s shoulder, “Stop it,” she gasped as soon as she had caught her breath.

“Stop fucking you or stop being competitive about it?” Charlie joked.

“Stop being competitive about it,” Hermione said, nudging him in the ribs and looking up at Bill, “I’m starting to feel like this isn’t fair on you Bill.”

Something flashed in Bill’s eyes, “What _are_ you suggesting?” he asked, his eyes searching hers.

“You both seemed to think that I couldn’t handle both of you at the same time,” Hermione said, a challenge in her eyes, “Shall we test that?”

Bill’s eyes widened, “Hermione-”

“Don’t even think about discouraging her,” Charlie said before Bill could object, “I know loads of charms to make it more comfortable for her.”

“But-”

“But nothing,” Charlie said, he pulled Hermione back so that she was flush against him, “Do you really want to do it? Cause if you do, there’s no going back.”

“I know,” Hermione said, tearing her eyes away from Bill’s to glance at Charlie, “And that doesn’t change my opinion.”

Bill’s eyes shone with lust at the very thought. Charlie, being the more experienced out of the three of them where these matters were concerned, took control.

“Kiss her within an inch of her life to distract her Bill,” He said, shooting his brother a grin, “I doubt that will be difficult for you.”

Bill chuckled and did as he was asked. Kissing Hermione within an inch of her life was definitely not a chore for him, and it did distract her from the slightly uncomfortable ‘preparation’ charms that Charlie knew.

All the same, nothing quite prepared her for the moment that Charlie actually edged his cock into her ass. She winced and let out a small noise of discomfort, but Bill kissed her deeply and held her tightly which helped her relax into Charlie.

“Are you okay?” The elder Weasley asked breathily as he broke the kiss.

Hermione nodded, her fingers gripping his arm tightly, “Fine,” She said softly.

Charlie reached around Hermione and grabbed Bill’s cock, guiding him into Hermione. The moment he slid in, he shut his eyes and muttered, “Fuck.”

Hermione gasped too, she could only imagine how it must have felt for the two brothers to be able to feel themselves through _her,_ but it was the most intense feeling in the world for her.

“Oh Godric, Hermione, I love you,” Charlie groaned, his lips against the back of her neck.

She gasped at his touch as Bill gripped her hips tightly as she rested between them, “Yeah, I second that,” he said, thrusting into her inadvertently.

“Bill,” She gasped, tightening her grip on his arms.

“Two-one,” Bill murmured.

Charlie chuckled, she felt his chest vibrate against her body. He pressed himself deeper into her too and she arched her back and moaned, “Charlie.”

“Two-two?” Charlie joked.

Hermione gasped and tried to catch her breath as the two brothers began to move inside her simultaneously, “For the last time, it’s not a competition.”

Bill and Charlie caught each other’s eyes, a competitive glint shone there but both of their eyes were filled with lust too.

Hermione would have rolled her eyes if she was capable of doing so, “Would you two just kiss and make up already?” she asked them.

Charlie grinned and shuffled a little so that his chest was pressed tightly against Hermione’s back. Bill realised what his brother was doing and copied his movement, pressing himself tightly against Hermione so that he and Charlie could kiss over her shoulder.

“Whatever you command love,” Charlie said, his voice deeper than usual.

Hermione had to admit, she hadn’t thought that they would actually do it. So when their lips connected, she let out an involuntary moan.

The brothers smirked against each other’s lips, and Bill ran his tongue along Charlie’s lower lip. Charlie groaned and opened his mouth a little wider, allowing Bill access. Bill was usually the rougher of the two of them, but he didn’t bite Charlie’s lip or kiss him hard that night. He slipped his tongue into Charlie’s mouth and used his free hand to wrap his fingers in Charlie’s curly hair. He pulled him as close as he could and growled into the kiss.

That was all it took for Hermione to come undone. As they kissed, she could feel the effect it had on them both and they could feel their cocks pulsing through Hermione’s thin walls. It was pretty clear that none of them would last very long.

Hermione came loudly, leaving nail tracks in Bill’s arm and crying out both of their names like it was a mantra. It didn’t take long for Bill and Charlie to follow her over the edge, just as loudly. Charlie came first, he groaned her name and rocked into her gently. Bill followed him over the edge, gripping Hermione’s hips hard enough to leave bruises and growling her name lowly.

When it was all over, they collapsed in a sweaty pile of limbs on Hermione’s bed, breathing heavily and grinning like idiots.

* * *

When Hermione woke up the following morning Bill was still fast asleep, but Charlie was awake. He was propped up on one shoulder as he watched her.

“Morning love.”

Hermione smiled, “Morning Charlie.”

“That was quite possibly the best night of my life,” Charlie said, grinning at her.

Hermione laughed quietly, “Yeah…I second that.”

“I’m sure Bill will third it when he quits snoring,” Charlie said, chuckling at his brother's expense.

Hermione reached out and took his hand, “You’re up this early because you’re leaving. Aren’t you?”

Charlie nodded, reaching over to tuck a curl behind her ear, “I was never meant to stay the night but there was no way I was going anywhere other than your bedroom after you said you wanted us both.”

Hermione smiled and shuffled a little closer to him, which wasn’t easy because Bill had his arm wrapped around her waist, “Be careful when you go back there, Charlie.”

“I’ll be much more careful now I’ve got this to come back to,” Charlie promised her, kissing her softly.

Hermione leant into his embrace and deepened the kiss. When Charlie pulled back, he looked at her apologetically, “I’ll be home soon. I just need to get this last dragon and her baby back home to Spain.”

Hermione nodded her understanding as he got out of bed and dressed quickly. Before he left, he leant down and kissed her on the forehead, “I love you, Hermione.”

“And I love you, Charlie,” Hermione said sincerely, stealing a quick kiss from him.

“And I love you too Char, but you can bugger off now so I can shag our girl?” Bill murmured sleepily.

Hermione tried not to chuckle as she chastised him, “Bill!”

Charlie grinned and slapped his brother on the arse, “Cheeky git. See you both next week,” he said, before flying out of the door.

Hermione sighed contently and turned around to look at Bill. He opened one bleary eye and smiled at her, “He’ll be fine baby.”

“I know, but I still don’t like it when he goes,” Hermione said softly, nestling into Bill’s chest.

“I never have either,” Bill murmured into her hair, breathing in the smell of her shampoo with a content smile, “But he always came back to me, and now he’ll always come back to us.”

“It’s going to take a little getting used to, isn’t it?” Hermione chuckled, “That there are three of us.”

“Ah, we’ll find our rhythm easily enough,” Bill yawned. He met her eye and grinned cheekily, “We did last night after all.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed at that comment.

“You’re embarrassed? After everything you did last night…after everything you let _us_ do to you,” Bill teased her.

Hermione ducked her head under the covers and complained, “Oh good Godric Bill, shut up!” as Bill barked out a laugh.

*** ~ TBC ~ ***


	17. And Then There Were Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A cheesy epilogue with lots of sex in it, because why not? This story was my mid 20's crisis cause I thought my fanfiction was getting boring and predictable so if anyone enjoys it that's a plus.

**25 th of December, 2014**

“Merry Christmas baby.”

“Merry Christmas Bill,” Hermione murmured sleepily, moving her lips up to kiss him. He pulled her closer, his hands sliding down her back to rest on her hips as he held her close. Hermione deepened the kiss, feeling his erection pressing against her leg. She reached down in-between their bodies and stroked it, eliciting a quiet moan from him.

“You two starting without me? On Christmas morning of all days?” A voice asked from the doorway.

“Charlie!” Hermione said when she saw the redhead in the doorway.

Bill grinned too, “I didn’t think you were coming back for Christmas. Didn’t the storm knock out the floo system?”

“I apparated home in leaps, took me 5 hours but like hell was I missing Christmas with my two favourite people,” Charlie said, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione grabbed him and pulled him into the bed with them, kissing him deeply. Bill didn’t mind, he just let them have their little reunion. Hermione systematically disposed of Charlie’s clothes as she undressed him, “I’ve missed you,” she murmured.

“And I’ve missed you,” Charlie murmured back, pressing his erection against her, she could still feel Bills against her back.

“I’ve missed you too,” Bill joked.

Charlie chortled, “Feeling a bit like a third wheel over there Bill?” he joked as he leant across Hermione to kiss the older man. Hermione ducked out of the way as Bill pulled Charlie towards him and kissed him hard. It was nearly a year on from the moment that two of them had become three and Hermione still enjoyed watching Bill and Charlie together.

“Don’t try and get yourself killed by a ridgeback again,” Bill said, once he had released Charlie from the kiss.

Charlie had a faint burn mark over one of his tattoos that had been inflicted on his latest trip to Europe, “If a serious burn gets me a reception like this, I reckon I’ll keep doing it.”

“Oh shut up,” Hermione argued, moving so that she was straddling him, “You always get a reception like this.”

“You get treated like a prince when you come home,” Bill agreed.

Charlie sighed as Hermione rocked against him, she was already wet from her morning foreplay with Bill so she wasted no time in sliding down on Charlie, making him groan and rock up towards her.

“Fuck Hermione,” Charlie groaned, grabbing her hips and pulling her down so that he was buried deep inside of her.

Hermione smirked at him, “Like I said, I missed you, Char.”

The nickname used to be exclusively used by Bill but now Hermione used it too and Charlie had never complained. He loved them both enough that he reckoned he would let them call him whatever the hell they wanted.

Bill moved behind Hermione and kissed her neck as his hands roamed down her back, resting on her arse. He mumbled a spell that they all knew very well these days and slid one finger into her, she gasped against Charlie’s lips but she was used to the pain now, it never lasted for long.

“Sorry babe,” Bill murmured, as he added a second finger.

“I’m sure I can keep her distracted,” Charlie said, his eyes flashing mischievously as he broke the kiss and moved his mouth to her breasts, licking, sucking and nipping at her nipples. Hermione gasped and arched her back, subconsciously pushing herself against Bill’s fingers.

Charlie winked at Bill over her shoulder and Bill chuckled, using his handy little lubrication spell again as he slid his cock against her ass, making Hermione inhale sharply.

Bill nodded to Charlie and Charlie used that moment to capture Hermione’s lips in a searing kiss. She moaned into the kiss and only let out a little gasp of pain when Bill slid his cock into her.

Charlie groaned against Hermione’s lips, one of his favourite feelings in the world was feeling his brothers cock pulsing through Hermione’s thin walls. It wasn’t very often that they were all together this way because Hermione hurt for days afterwards and they didn’t like to inflict that on her unless it was a special occasion. Normally they took turns, and they had gotten very inventive with positions over the past few months.

Hermione adjusted slightly and let out a breathy moan, now that the sharp pain was gone, she could begin to enjoy the sensation of having both of the Weasley brothers inside her at the same time. She began to rock against them, and very quickly they found a rhythm that worked for them all.

“Fuck Charlie, Bill,” Hermione gasped, her eyes fluttering shut.

Bill growled against her neck, the sound sending shivers down Hermione’s spine. He reached around and began to flick his thumb over her clit, eliciting the most wonderful moans from her lips.

“Oh Godric, Bill, I won’t last long if you keep that up,” Hermione gasped as she began to move more erratically.

“Don’t worry, I won’t either,” Bill groaned, kissing her and sinking his teeth into her neck as he neared his orgasm too.

“Yeah, I third that,” Charlie groaned, rocking up into Hermione and making her cry out in pleasure.

“Oh fuck, Charlie,” Hermione moaned, gripping his shoulders hard.

Bill’s cock began to pulse inside her and she knew that they were all close. She threw her head back against Bill’s chest and cried out their names as she came. They both followed, Bill growling it ferally and Charlie grinding out her name as they did so.

They were all exhausted when they collapsed on the bed, the room stunk of sex, they were all covered in sweat but fuck, that had been good.

“Merry Christmas indeed,” Charlie said, turning around so that he could press his body against Hermione’s and kiss her softly.

Hermione caught her breath, “Yeah, it was a memorable way to start the day.”

Bill chuckled and rolled over too, kissing Hermione lightly then reaching over to kiss Charlie, “Speaking of starting the day, don’t you think we should freshen up and wake the kids up? Fleur and the girls will be here in like…an hour.”

Hermione nodded as she glanced at the clock, “Yeah, as much as I would love to lie here all day, we should do that.”

Charlie hummed contently, “Remind me why we’re spending Christmas with your ex-wife again?”

“Because she insisted on it if I wanted to see my kids,” Bill reminded his brother, stretching out in bed, “And she promised to be civil.”

“She will be,” Hermione said, stretching gingerly then wincing when it hurt, “She has been nothing but supportive since Bill and I got together.”

“She wouldn’t be if she knew about my involvement,” Charlie said, shooting them a flyboy grin.

“Well she doesn’t know, and that’s her loss,” Hermione said, smirking at the younger Weasley, “She could have had all of this if she wasn’t such a prude.”

Bill barked out a laugh and kissed Hermione, “Good Godric, I fucking love you.”

Hermione laughed and got to her feet, “I’m going for a shower and then I’m going to wake the kids up. Feel free to reacquaint yourselves with each other while I’m doing that,” she said, giving the brothers a knowing look as she slipped a dressing gown on and disappeared into the bathroom down the hall.

* * *

As Hermione’s feet echoed down the hallway, Charlie yawned and moved closer to Bill, “How long was I gone for this time then?”

“Over a month,” Bill replied, glancing at Charlie’s body, “And you came back with quite a few more scars.”

“Hermione doesn’t notice them all,” Charlie murmured, “But you always do.”

“I pay more attention,” Bill said simply, “You need to start being a bit more careful Char. Your reflexes aren’t what they used to be.”

“My reflexes are just fine,” Charlie objected, “We’re not having this argument again.”

To test his reflexes, Bill moved as if he was going to get up out of bed then turned around and swung at Charlie. But Charlie proved Bill wrong, he grabbed Bill’s fist when it was inches from his face then flung him down on the bed.

Bill laughed, “I stand corrected.”

“It’s your reflexes that are suffering Billy,” Charlie smirked, “You’re an old man now.”

“You’re two years younger me than you prick,” Bill said, flipping them with ease so that Charlie was pinned against the bed, “It’s only been a few days since the moon Charlie, you normally pay attention to that.”

Charlie grinned at him, “Oh I know Bill, I was kind of hoping that the wolf would come out a little this time. I think things have been a little vanilla between us since we brought Hermione in.”

Bill laughed a low, barking laugh, “Vanilla? Oh, you’ve done it now Charlie,” he said, kissing his younger brother fiercely and pressing his erection against Charlie’s. Charlie hissed against his lips and raised his hips, completely involuntarily which made Bill smirk.

“You want the wolf?” Bill growled in his ear, “I won’t be as nice to you as I am to Hermione.”

Charlie knew what he meant before he heard Bill mutter his nifty little lubrication charm, before he felt Bill’s cock press up against the entrance to his ass as he grabbed Charlie’s legs. Charlie was bigger and stockier, but he didn’t often beat Bill when it came to raw strength. He gritted his teeth as he waited for it, and surely enough Bill pushed straight into him with only lube, no preparation.

“Fuck,” Charlie hissed, “Oh fuck Bill.”

“Like it rough, don’t you Charlie?” Bill asked, thrusting into Charlie’s tight ass with a satisfied groan.

Charlie grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him down to him. He kissed his brother hard and fast, groaning against his lips as Bill pulled out agonizingly slowly then thrust back in again.

“Fuck Charlie,” Bill groaned, “You’re always so tight, I never last long enough.”

“That’s the old age Billy,” Charlie gasped as he stroked his own cock.

Bill grinned, “Doubt you’re going to last much longer,” he said, capturing his brother's lips once again. He grinned into the kiss and matched Charlie’s strokes, with each one he thrust into his ass until before long they were both moaning and panting.

“Oh fuck Bill…yeah,” Charlie grunted.

“Fuck Char, I’m close too,” Bill groaned, “So fucking close…god, Charlie.”

He cried out Charlie’s name then came, thrusting erratically into his brother as he did so. Charlie groaned and moved his hand faster over his own cock as Bill replaced his cock with his fingers, hitting a spot that made Charlie cry out louder as he neared his orgasm.

“Fuck Bill…oh fuck! Bill,” Charlie moaned as he came seconds later, making a mess of his hand and the bedsheets.

“Good boy,” Bill murmured into his brother's ear as he moved down the bed to take Charlie’s cock in his mouth.

“Oh fuck me, Bill, you guys really must have missed me,” Charlie moaned, his cock twitching in Bill’s mouth, “I’ve never had a homecoming this good before.”

Bill moved up the bed again to kiss him, “You’ve never been away for this long before since the three of us started this thing, and you’ve never nearly been killed by a dragon before either.”

“I get the hint,” Charlie said, still breathing heavily, “I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Good,” Bill said, pushing himself to his feet reluctantly, “Get your arse out of bed and get a shower, we need to look presentable before my ex-wife and kids show up in…half an hour.”

“Oh fuck,” Charlie muttered, glancing at the clock and jumping out of bed too.

* * *

**31 st of December, 2015**

“Oh, another wedding! How exciting!” Molly gushed as Ginny told her all about Luna and the man she had met later in life than most of them had met their other halves.

Hermione smiled, “I’m so happy that she finally found love.”

“Oh it’s lovely news,” Molly agreed as she handed out drinks, “Do you think you and Bill will ever get married dear?”

Hermione had been waiting for the question, she knew that Molly would ask it eventually.

“Ever?” Charlie snorted, “You make it sound like they’ve been together for years Mum.”

“It’s only been two years,” Bill agreed with an amused chuckle.

“And no Molly,” Hermione added, “I don’t think we’ll ever get married, do you Bill?”

Bill shook his head, “Nah, I’ve been married and divorced. No wish to do that again.”

“And I’ve been married and widowed,” Hermione shrugged, “So I don’t think I’ll ever have any wish to get married again.”

Bill wrapped an arm around her, “Happy as we are love, aren’t we?”

Hermione smiled up at him, “We are,” she agreed.

Molly smiled at them, “You are wonderful for each other,” she said happily, “Now if we could just find a lovely girl for Charlie.”

Ginny snorted and shot Charlie a knowing look, she had clocked on to the whole triad situation pretty damn quickly, as had George. The rest of the Weasley’s were oblivious to the specifics of Hermione and Bill’s relationship.

“Fat chance of that unless that lady is a dragon,” Ginny said, winking at her older brother.

Charlie rolled his eyes, “Marriage isn’t my style Mum. I’m a rolling stone.”

“Oh here we go again,” Bill laughed, “Casanova over there Hermione, he’s a rolling stone you hear that?”

Hermione laughed and cocked her head at Charlie, “You’re not a rolling stone, you’re a Dragonologist.”

“Still a good pick up line,” Charlie teased.

Arthur chuckled and shook his head, “I think you might as well give up hope that Charlie will marry Molly.”

“Yeah give up all hope Mum, you’ll stop getting disappointed that way,” Charlie agreed, flinging himself onto a sofa in the lounge.

Molly rolled her eyes, “Do you want the spare room made up for you tonight Charlie? I would have done it earlier if I knew that you would be back.”

“Nah, I’m good Mum. I’ll stay with Hermione and Bill, I can catch up with the sproglets that way,” Charlie said easily.

As if on cue, said sproglets ran into the room.

“Uncle Charlie, you’re back!” Hugo said excitedly, “Did Mum tell you about the dragon I made for school?”

“No, she did not!” Charlie said eagerly as he pulled the 7-year-old onto the sofa next to him, “What kind of dragon was it?”

Hugo grinned, “It was a Hebridean black and it was _huge_ Uncle Charlie!”

As he launched into an explanation of the huge dragon puppet that he had made, Rose rolled her eyes and stood before her parents, “Mum, can I stay up to watch the fireworks tonight?”

“I’m not sure if you will be able to stay up for long enough sweetheart,” Hermione told her daughter.

“Bill said that I would be old enough to watch them once I was 10 and I am 10 now!” Rose said, crossing her arms huffily.

Bill looked at Hermione sheepishly, “I did say that, sorry.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her partner, “Did you?”

“Well Vic was 10 when she first stayed up for the fireworks,” Bill explained, “So I figured Rose would be able to manage it once she was 10.”

“You can stay up,” Hermione said, sighing and giving in to her daughter, “But only if you promise to stay with your sisters and behave.”

“But Mum, I don’t want to stay with them,” Rose complained, “Vic will just snog Teddy and Minnie will complain that it’s gross and that boys are disgusting.”

Bill shook his head, “Don’t worry, if Vic snogs Teddy, I’ll make sure he doesn’t live to see next new year. I’ve had a word with him already. You stick with Minnie, she’ll keep you right.”

“Alright,” Rose sighed, “Thanks for letting me stay up Bill.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as Rose walked away, “She likes you more than me.”

“She just thinks you’re too strict,” Bill said, pulling her closer to him, “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“You’re more worried about your daughters and Teddy Lupin,” Hermione joked.

“There are too many girls in this family, I’m going to end up in Azkaban at this rate if he keeps hitting on my kids,” Bill said with a chuckle.

“No you won’t, you’ve got a good lawyer,” Hermione said, shooting him a suggestive look.

“All the same, don’t you think poor Hugo’s a bit outnumbered?” Bill asked, nudging his head towards Hugo who was still telling Charlie all about his dragon.

Hermione looked up at him in surprise and lowered her voice, “Are you saying you want to have a baby, together?” she asked in surprise.

“Only if you want to,” Bill murmured, “If you’re happy with things as they are then that’s fine.”

Hermione’s frown deepened. She had thought that she was done with kids, Hugo was 7 now… all of the kids were at Hogwarts or primary school. She hadn’t wanted a baby again, she hadn’t wanted that endless cycle of soothing, feeding and changing but she knew it would be different with Bill…

“What about Charlie?” Hermione asked in a whisper.

“We would need to ask him about it,” Bill agreed, his eyes on his brother, “But I don’t think he would mind being a bit more hands-on with a baby than he got to be with his nieces and nephews.”

“Alright,” Hermione said softly, “We’ll talk to Charlie and if he’s okay with the idea then…I’ll consider it.”

* * *

**24 th of December, 2016**

“Hey!” Charlie said in an excited whisper as he stepped into the darkened hospital room in St. Mungos.

Bill raised his finger to his lips and hushed Charlie, indicating that Hermione was asleep.

Charlie grinned as he saw the tiny baby in Bill’s arms, “How’s our girl?” he asked, his eyes flickering over towards Hermione.

“Tired, but she did great Char,” Bill said as Charlie sat down next to him.

Charlie spotted the blue blanket and chuckled, “Hey, you got a boy, just like you wanted.”

Bill smiled down at the little guy, “We wanted to wait for you before we named him. We know he’s mine but we make all of our decisions together in this relationship so it would have felt wrong to do it without you.”

“What name were you thinking?” Charlie asked, absentmindedly stroking a finger down the little boys face. He had a full head of red hair and bright, blue eyes just like his and Bill’s, “He’s going to be your double I reckon.”

Bill yawned, “Hermione wants to be the one to discuss names with you. She’s got a grand master plan, she’s hardly even told me what she’s thinking.”

Charlie chuckled, “Sounds like her. You look exhausted,” he added, resting his hand on Bill’s, “Do you want me to take him so that you can catch a nap with Hermione?”

“Oh Char, you’re bloody brilliant,” Bill said, carefully handing his son to Charlie and kissing his brother on the forehead, “I love you.”

“Love you too Bill,” Charlie murmured, stealing a quick kiss from his brother since the room was empty and it was the dead of night.

Bill yawned again and climbed into bed with Hermione, being careful not to jostle her too much as he settled down next to her. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, he was snoring softly within 5 minutes.

Charlie looked down at the baby who was awake, but just happily looking around at the world rather than crying. He smiled at him and spoke softly, “Hey little guy. You are very lucky, you have a great Daddy and a wonderful, beautiful Mummy. And you have me, I’m always going to be here for you too.”

The baby boy gurgled and Charlie smiled, “I wonder how much convincing it would take to get your Mummy to give you a brother or sister…” he mused, more to himself than anyone else.

“You want a baby Char?” Hermione’s sleepy voice asked in surprise.

Charlie looked up at her, “Hermione, you should be resting.”

“I’ve been resting for the past few hours,” Hermione said, smiling at Charlie, “I didn’t know you wanted a baby.”

“Neither did I,” Charlie admitted, “Not until I looked at this little guy.”

“Well give it a few months to see if the novelty wears off,” Hermione said as the little boy began to gurn, “But if you want a baby…well, we’ve always treated each other as equals in this relationship and I’d love to have a baby with you. But I swear, I’ll stop at four because I’m not becoming like your Mother.”

Charlie laughed quietly at that, “I’ll hold you to that,” he joked as the little boys gurning got louder.

“I think he’s hungry,” Hermione said as she reached out for her son.

Charlie placed him in her arms gently and watched with interest as she flipped up her shirt and latched the baby onto her breast, “You’re a pro at that.”

Hermione chuckled weakly, “Well this isn’t my first rodeo,” she reminded him, “Did Bill talk to you about names?”

Charlie shook his head, his hand resting on her leg as she fed the little boy, “He said that you wanted to talk to me first.”

Hermione nodded, “Bill wants him to have a normal name since he hates the girls' French names.”

Charlie chuckled, “Go figure. What’s he thinking, John?”

“Not that boring,” Hermione laughed, “He likes the name Alastair, after Moody.”

“It’s a nice boring name, just what Bill wants,” Charlie said, grinning at Hermione.

Hermione would have swiped at him if it wasn’t for the fact that she was feeding the baby, “So we were thinking of Alastair Charles Weasley.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “You want to give him my name as a middle name?”

“You’re going to be as much a part of his life as Bill and I are,” Hermione said softly, grabbing Charlie’s hand, “Maybe we can’t involve you publicly, but one thing we can do is give him your name and that’s something I want to do.”

Charlie smiled tearfully at her and leant over the baby to kiss her, “I’m bloody honoured and I love Alastair to bits already.”

Hermione smiled down at the little boy and at Bill who was sleeping peacefully next to them, “We all do.”

* * *

**17 th of July, 2017**

Hermione grinned when Charlie walked through the door into the kitchen.

“Charlie!” She said, dashing over to him and hugging him tightly, “You’re home!”

Charlie grinned and kissed her quickly in the empty kitchen. Hugo still didn’t know about Charlie’s part in their relationship, but Rose had worked it out now. She had just come home from her first year at Hogwarts, and she had always been a bright kid. Hermione had expected a full-blown fight over the whole thing, but Rose had taken it well and treated Charlie like another father figure, just as she treated Bill.

“I’ve only been gone a week love,” Charlie chuckled as he drew back from the kiss.

“I know but it’s been the longest week ever waiting for you to come back Charlie,” Hermione said excitedly, she was practically bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Why?” Charlie asked cluelessly.

“Because I have news,” Hermione said, grinning at him, “I’m pregnant!”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “You’re…you are?”

Hermione nodded, her smile vibrant, “I am!”

“And it’s definitely mine?” Charlie asked, stunned by the news.

“It’s definitely yours,” Bill remarked as he stepped into the kitchen with 6-month-old Alistair on his hip, “She’s not been shagging me for months _just in case_ because she knows how much you want a baby.”

Charlie grinned sheepishly at his brother, “Sorry Bill, I figured you two were just hitting the usual post-baby rough patch.”

Bill barked out a laugh and hit his brother on the back, “Hey it’s your turn next Charlie. Good luck,” he said, smirking at the younger man.

“I can’t wait,” Charlie said, drawing Hermione in for a hug, “I cannot bloody wait! Thank you Hermione!” he said, spinning her around and grinning with pure delight.

* * *

**20 th March, 2018**

“Bill!”

Bill spun around in surprise, “Mum! Why are you in our living room?”

“Because I’ve been trying to contact you for hours Bill!” Molly exclaimed, “Hermione is in St. Mungo’s, she’s had the baby.”

“Oh,” Bill said, frowning. He had just gotten back from his latest job in Slovenia and he hadn’t gotten any Patronuses through but he had been pretty deep underground and undercover.

“Oh?” Molly fumed, “You just missed the birth of your daughter William Weasley and all that you can say is oh?”

“Daughter?” Bill asked, chuckling at the very thought, “Another girl? Is Hermione okay?”

“She is fine,” Molly said, frowning at Bill, “Charlie took her into the hospital, he was with her throughout the whole birth.”

Bill smiled, “Good…that’s good.”

“Good? Bill, what has gotten into you?” Molly snapped, “You ought to be devastated!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m devastated Mum,” Bill said, he wished he could have made it more convincing but he had been awake for over 24 hours and he was really tired, “But I’m just glad that somebody was there with her. You know how attentive Char is, he’d have looked after her.”

Molly put her hands on her hips and stared her son down, “Do you take me for an idiot, William Weasley?”

“Uh…no?” Bill said, looking at his Mother cautiously.

Molly scoffed, “Charlie never stays at the Burrow anymore. Every time he comes home, he comes here. Your girls adore him, Hermione’s kids adore him and he treats Alastair as if he were his own son. I knew that something was going on but I never realised quite how serious it was.”

“Uh, I have no idea what you mean Mum,” Bill bluffed.

Molly looked Bill dead in the eye and said, “That’s Charlie’s daughter that she just gave birth to, isn’t it?”

“Well I bloody hope so,” Bill yawned, “Because she refused to sleep with me for 3 months so that Charlie could get the baby he decided he wanted after his mid-40’s crisis.”

“William!” Molly chastised.

“Sorry,” Bill yawned again, “Too blunt?”

Molly shook her head in disbelief, “Why on earth did you three not tell me about this?”

“Because we thought you would go bloody mental at us?” Bill suggested, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Molly scoffed, “Well Bill, you clearly take me for a complete fool. I understand exactly what is going on here.”

“I very much doubt that Mum,” Bill remarked dryly.

“No William, I do,” Molly said firmly, “Did you never wonder why your Uncle Fabian and your Uncle Gideon weren’t married?”

Bill frowned and looked up at his Mother, “No…why were they not married?” he asked with interest.

“Because they were both in love with the same person, a girl by the name of Marlene McKinnon,” Molly said, her glare boring into her eldest son, “And they knew that nobody would understand the nature of their relationship so they kept it a secret.”

Bill’s frown deepened, his Uncles had been twins like Fred and George which meant that there was a high chance that they had been closer than average brothers. Was his Mother indicating that she knew the true nature of his relationship with Charlie? One thing was for sure, he wasn’t opening that can of worms.

“I’m sorry Mum,” Bill admitted, “I didn’t know that.”

Molly made a small, huffing sound, “Clearly. Now, when Alastair was born, Charlie was the first person to visit him in St. Mungos. You owe his daughter the same honour he bestowed on your son.”

Bill smiled and got to his feet, “You’re right.”

“Of course I am, I’m your Mother,” Molly said, smiling weakly at him, “And if you so wish, you can tell the family about the true nature of your relationship. You have children together now, there is no sense in hiding that from us. It isn’t fair on Charlie to have to pretend that this baby isn’t his, not when he’s with family.”

“Gin and George worked it out a long time ago,” Bill admitted as he threw some floo powder into the fire, “But good luck having that chat with George and Perce,” he added, grinning boyishly at her as he disappeared into the flames. He was sure that he heard her cursing his name.

* * *

Bill tiptoed into the hospital room and grinned when he saw Charlie drifting in a chair while a little girl with a full head of red curls yawned in his arms. Hermione was dozing in the bed next to him.

Bill sat down next to his brother and smiled at him, “You did good.”

Charlie shook his head, “She did good,” he said, looking over at Hermione, “I just helped create this little angel.”

“She’s cute,” Bill said, smiling down at the little girl.

“She’s got her Mums curls,” Charlie said, running his hands across her hair.

“But her Dads eyes,” Bill said, looking into those vibrant blue eyes. They were slightly darker than his, but just like Charlie’s.

“She’s definitely our last,” Charlie said, looking at Hermione’s pale form, “There were complications.”

“Is Hermione going to be okay?” Bill asked, looking over at Hermione anxiously.

Charlie nodded, “She lost a lot of blood which is why she’s so pale but she’s going to be okay. We just won’t have any more babies.”

“She wanted to be done at four anyway,” Bill said, absentmindedly running his hand down the little girl's cheek, “And she gave us one each, she’s nothing but fair.”

Charlie chuckled, “Did Mum read you the rights act for missing her birth?”

“Yeah, then she worked out that the baby was yours,” Bill said, shooting his brother an apologetic look, “So it’s all going to be public knowledge at the next family dinner.”

“She still wants us to come to dinner?” Charlie asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Bill nodded, he yawned, “Yeah, she was fine with it. I don’t think she knows about you and I mind you.”

“Yeah, let’s keep it that way,” Charlie snorted, “What the hell is Dad going to say when he finds out?”

“Godric knows, he’ll either pass out or shrug and say okay,” Bill said in amusement, “I can never tell which way it’s going to go down with Dad. I’m more interested in what Perce is gonna say.”

“He’ll definitely pass out,” Charlie chuckled.

Bill laughed too, “This little lady got a name yet then?”

“Nah, we were waiting for you,” Charlie yawned, “We make all of our decisions together, remember?”

Bill hummed thoughtfully, “You’re going to give her a really weird name aren’t you.”

Charlie grinned at his brother, “Yep.”

“As long as it’s not bloody French,” Bill muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“You realise that if the truth comes out about my involvement in your relationship, that means that your kids find out,” Charlie mused at Bill’s mention of the French language.

“Yeah, I realise that. Hermione’s kids both know so it was going to happen eventually,” Bill said with a shrug.

“Yes but with your children finding out, your ex-wife also finds out,” Charlie reminded his brother.

Bill snorted, “And? What do I care if Fleur knows? She’s hardly going to be surprised, is she? How many times did we try and convince her to include you when I was married to her?”

“True,” Charlie mused, “You know it will be a scandal if it ever hits the press.”

“It won’t hit the press Char,” Bill said softly, “We’ll keep in the family, we’re good at that.”

Charlie laughed at the outrageous joke, and the noise woke Hermione up. She smiled weakly at Bill, “You’re here.”

“I’m here baby,” Bill said, kissing her lightly, “I’m sorry that I missed it.”

“It’s okay, Charlie was brilliant,” Hermione said, reaching for his hand.

Charlie grabbed it and squeezed, “You did all of the hard work love.”

Hermione smiled and looked down at her daughter, “I suppose we ought to name her.”

“I have a few ideas,” Charlie said, and Bill raised an eyebrow at him.

“How about Hydra?”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Charlie, that’s the name of a dragon that was killed by Hercules according to Ancient Greek myth.”

“So? It’s a nice name,” Charlie objected.

“It’s not a nice name,” Bill snorted, “Any non-dragon themed names?”

“Adalinda?” Charlie suggested.

“It means noble serpent, Charlie,” Hermione said, looking at the man in amusement, “We’re not naming our daughter after a dragon.”

“What’s wrong with a nice normal name like Lilith?” Bill asked with a shrug.

Charlie and Hermione both made a face.

“That’s a terrible name,” Charlie said.

Hermione nodded her agreement, “She was a demonic bitch according to the Bible. That would be like naming your son Damien, I mean do you _want_ to tempt fate?”

Bill snorted and leant back, “I’ll let you two come up with some weird, foreign name then.”

“He’s so boring,” Charlie said, meeting Hermione’s eye and grinning, “Why do we sleep with him again?”

“Charlie,” Hermione chuckled in an attempt to chastise him.

“Well I’m all out of ideas,” Charlie said with a shrug, “I only had dragon-themed names.”

“I had a few boys names up my sleeve, but none for a girl,” Hermione admitted, “Maybe she’ll have to be called baby for a little while.”

“Nah, she needs a name so we can introduce her to all of her brothers and sisters,” Bill said thoughtfully, “What do you think of Kaida?”

Charlie looked down at his daughter and smiled broadly, “Kaida…it means little dragon.”

Hermione smiled over at Bill, “And it’s a lovely name.”

“It’s definitely better than Hydra,” Bill murmured in Hermione’s ear, she tried to hold back a chuckle.

Charlie wasn’t paying attention anyway, he was too busy smiling at his daughter, “Kaida Dora Weasley?”

Bill looked over at Hermione, “If Hermione is okay to have Dora as a middle name?”

“Of course I am,” Hermione said, yawning as she watched the two men who she loved, “Kaida Dora Weasley…a lovely name for a beautiful baby,” she said, pressing a kiss against Bill’s forehead as he looked down at the little girl and squeezing Charlie’s hand.

Their family was complete.

* * *

**22 nd of August, 2025**

“Mum. Please don’t kill me for what I’m about to suggest.”

Hermione looked up at her eldest daughter, “If it’s that you’re going to run away because you’ve got cold feet, you can take it up with your Dads. They are the ones paying for this big white wedding of yours Rosie.”

Rose rolled her eyes, she was 20 years old and preparing for her wedding the next day, “I’m not running away Mum. I love Scorp, I would never do that to him.”

Hermione yawned and leaned back in her chair, “What’s your suggestion then? Is it crazier than asking if both your Dads can walk you down the aisle?”

“Yeah, I think it is,” Rose admitted as she bit her lip.

Hermione leant forward and raised an eyebrow at her, “Go on then my love.”

“Right,” Rose said, pushing herself to her feet and beginning to pace the floor of the kitchen, “I really hope that you understand this because you have a really weird relationship with Bill and Charlie.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me that Scorpius is gay and that you’re marrying him to be the trophy wife that gives him an heir,” Hermione cut in.

“No,” Rose said, rolling her eyes again, “No Mum. I’m marrying Scorpius because I love him but he does also have feelings for Albus and I know he’s my cousin which makes it weird, doesn’t it? But Bill and Charlie are brothers and you all had kids together and everything so-”

Hermione laughed and raised a hand to stop her daughter, “Rosie, it’s not even illegal to marry your cousin. If Albus is a part of your relationship then so be it. I called it years ago anyway.”

“Liar, I called it,” Charlie said from the bottom of the stairs, “Can I come in or is this Mum and daughter talk?”

“You can come in Dad,” Rose said, breathing a sigh of relief, “So you’re okay with it?”

“Of course I’m okay with it, I’d be a hypocrite if I wasn’t,” Hermione said with an easy smile, “And your Dad is right, he did call it first way back when you guys all came to stay here the summer after 5th year.”

“Must be in our blood to have a dysfunctional family,” Bill said with a grin as he followed Charlie into the kitchen.

Rose smiled broadly at the two men, “Are you ready to walk me down the aisle tomorrow?”

“Oh born ready Rosie,” Charlie said, winking at the girl that he considered as a daughter.

“I’m still not completely happy that you’re marrying a Malfoy but yes, I’m ready,” Bill said, he was far more protective than Charlie.

Rose snorted, “Get used to it Pops, he’s going to be around for a while yet.”

Hermione grinned at her daughter, “I think we’re about as prepared as we can be. Oh, did you decide about the top table, Rosie?”

“Yeah, we’ll just magically extend it to fit everyone,” Rose said with a shrug, “I want all three of my parents there and Scorpius wants Daphne there, she’s practically his Mum.”

“That’s fine, magical extension charm it is,” Hermione said, the truth about her relationship with Charlie and Bill had come out in the press about 5 years earlier and now that the scandal had passed, nobody cared that much.

“Your sisters are arriving at some point tonight,” Bill said, glancing at the clock, “Vic and Teddy are on their way back from Egypt right now.”

“What about Minnie?” Rose asked with a yawn, “Is she still in South America?”

Charlie shook his head, “Nah she headed back a few days ago but she’s still in London writing up the notes from her most recent trip. Don’t worry, she’ll be here along with her new catch.”

“Oh Godric, who is she bringing?” Rose asked with a shake of her head.

“Someone she picked up in Mexico, she’s called Rosa,” Charlie grinned, “Speaks next to no English, hot though.”

“Dad!” Rose exclaimed at the same time as Hermione remarked, “Charlie!”

Charlie grinned shamelessly at them and called up the stairs, “Kaida, hurry up and get your jammies on! Your sister is getting married tomorrow, you need your beauty sleep!”

“I can’t go to bed without saying goodnight to Sofia Daddy!”

Bill snorted and smirked at his brother, “Still think bringing that pygmy Catalonian dragon home from the island was a good idea?”

“Of course it was, she needed a home,” Charlie defended himself.

“Trust your daughter to have a pet dragon, Charlie,” Hermione murmured, but it was said fondly. She pecked him on the lips as she walked past him and called upstairs, “Kaida sweetheart, Sofia is outside! If you want to try and get her to come up to bed with you, you had better run down here and fetch her.”

“Ali!” Bill called up the stairs, “You coming down for hot chocolate before bed?”

“Yeah Pops, two secs!”

There was a thundering sound above them. Rose shook her head in disbelief, “How can two kids make such a noise? When does Hugo arrive Mum?”

“Any minute now,” Hermione answered, “He said he was coming over as soon as he finished work.”

As the thundering on the stairs eased, and two redhaired kids ran into the kitchen, the backdoor also opened.

“Hey, Hugo!” Kaida said as she barreled past him and the blond-haired girl who he was dragging along with him.

“She’s looking for Sofia,” Hermione explained as she stepped forward and hugged her son.

“She’s setting fire to the hydrangeas again,” Hugo remarked as he dumped a bag by the door and hi-fived Alastair, “Hey Ali!”

Alastair grinned, “Hey Hugo!”

“That dragon of yours hates my flowers,” Hermione muttered, sending Charlie an amused look.

Charlie just grinned, none of them could be angry with the atmosphere in the kitchen. A family gathering like this made their house feel like a home. On the odd occasion that they did manage to get all six of their children together, the house felt very full but it was full of laughter and love.

“Still marrying that arse then Rosie?”

Rose punched her brother in the arm as hard as she could, “Yes Hugo, I am.”

The girl by his side chuckled and said, “Just ignore Hugo, you know his opinion of Scorp. It’s totally unfounded.”

“Thank you, Alice,” Rose said, making a face at her brother.

“Got her!” Kaida said, looking like a wild child as she ran back into the kitchen. Her bare feet were wet and muddy, her red curls were all around her face and she had soot on her nightdress.

Hermione looked at her youngest child in disbelief and shook her head, “For Merlin’s sake Kaida, you are your Fathers daughter.”

Charlie grinned proudly.

Bill snorted and said, “Alright guys. Family meeting before the big day tomorrow-”

“Family meeting?” A new voice said as the backdoor banged open once more, “Wait for the rest of the family to arrive before you get ahead of yourself Dad.”

Bill grinned and enveloped his daughter in a hug, “Good to see you, Vic.”

“You too Dad,” Victoire said, withdrawing from the hug and pushing her thick blonde hair behind her ears.

“Nice to see you again Bill,” Teddy said from Victoire’s side. His hair was a deep red today, and he had a few new tattoos.

“You cannot disapprove,” Hermione cut in when she saw the scrutiny in Bill’s eyes, “That was you when I met you for the first time. Could you imagine what my Father would have said if I had brought you home?”

Bill made a face.

“They’ve been together for 10 years Bill.” Charlie said, clapping Bill on the back, “And now Rosie is getting married too. You’re a Father of girls, you’ve got to accept the fact they are going to marry boys.”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me Daddy.”

The backdoor banged open again and Hermione rolled her eyes, “Can none of you open a door properly?” she asked as she fixed the dent with magic for the thousandth time.

The others all ignored her as they pounced on Dominique. She was the complete opposite of her sister, she had thick, wavy red hair and a face littered with freckles. She was hauling a poor Hispanic girl along with her, who like Charlie had said, was very good looking.

“This is Rosa, I’m teaching her English. Say hi, Rosa,” Dominique said.

“Hi,” Rosa said quietly.

“I’m a great teacher,” Dominique grinned as she hugged her father, “Hey Dad.”

“Hey baby,” Bill said, pulling her close, “I missed you this trip, you were gone a while.”

“There’s a lot to see in South America,” Dominique shrugged. She spotted Rose and made a beeline for her, “But I was never going to miss little Rosie tying the note! To a Malfoy too!”

Rose laughed and hugged the girl that she thought of a sister, “Yeah, a Weasley marrying a Malfoy, I know.”

“Lucius would be turning in his grave,” Charlie said, grinning wickedly at Bill. Despite his disapproval of Rose’s choice of husband, Bill barked out a laugh at that thought.

Hermione zoned out the noise for a moment as she looked around the crowded kitchen at their family. Between them they had six children, Victoire was the oldest at 26 and Kaida was the youngest at 8 years old. When she had bought this house, she hadn’t expected their family to expand as much as it had but they made it work. The house had become rather like the Burrow in that it was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

Bill and Charlie were both handy guys, they had added an extra floor and when the whole family came back for a special occasion like this, the siblings who weren’t in relationships had no choice but to bunk with each other.

Hermione took a step back and just watched them all for a moment. Rose was laughing and chatting with Dominique, nodding her head animatedly as Dominique told her a story about her latest adventure. She travelled the world, cataloguing magical plant and animal life. But she enjoyed meeting people and making memories along the way.

Victoire and Teddy were standing close together, talking and glancing over at Rose every so often. They had been together since their schooldays and they had been married for two years now. It was only a matter of time until they decided to move home and start a family, they both worked in Egypt as curse-breakers at the moment. She could only imagine how Bill would react to that news, Hermione chuckled at the very thought.

Hugo and his girlfriend, Alice Longbottom, the lovely, sensible daughter of Neville and Hannah, were talking to Alastair. The little boy was his Father’s double. Every time that Hermione looked at him, she saw Bill and that made her smile.

Kaida was in a world of her own, talking to the pygmy dragon that was resting on her shoulder and occasionally spitting out a puff of smoke into her face. Apparently, that was what Sofia did when she had a cold. Kaida and that dragon were attached at the hip, and with her flyaway hair and cheeky smile, Kaida reminded Hermione of Charlie as much as Alastair reminded her of Bill.

It wasn’t where she had expected her life to take her. She had never expected Rose to walk down the aisle with two Dads, or to want both of those Dads at the top table on her wedding day.

When Ron had died, Hermione thought that her world had crumbled down and ended. But in reality, it had only been the start.

“You okay love?”

Hermione smiled tearfully at Charlie, “Just reminiscing,” she promised, kissing him lightly.

“You sure? You look upset,” Bill said, from her other side.

“Quite the opposite,” Hermione said, looking up at the other Weasley, “I’m just very grateful for our family and the life we get to lead.”

Charlie and Bill both looked out at their extended, weird and wonderful family and smiled too.

“I second that,” Charlie said.

“And I third it,” Bill agreed.

The comment had become a long-running joke every time they all agreed on something, but this time there was no jest. They were far from perfect and there had been bumps in the road for them, just like there were in any other relationship.

But they had a good life and that was enough. It had _always_ been enough.

*** ~ THE END! ~ ***


End file.
